To The Happy Couple
by Ally147
Summary: Gary and Misty deal with the fallout of a shared betrayal while coming to terms with their own long buried feelings coming to the surface once more. Rated for language, adult themes and adult content. EgoShipping. GaryxMisty
1. Revelation

**28/08/2013: **Sure, I should probably be actually updating this one, but there are aspects of it that are pissing me right off, hence an edit of all chapters thus far. If they look different, they are, and are all the better for it :)

Welcome to my newest story! I had so many of my favourite stories updated for me these past few days so I couldn't hold onto this one any longer without sharing! I should preface this by saying that **this is not the sequel to 'Sweeping the Sensational Set'**, but another idea I've had for some time that I really wanted to explore before starting on anything else. Of course, this will be another EgoShipping story and like STSS the actual role of Pokemon in it will be rather minor. They're there, but I won't be talking about them much unless we really need to. Also, the plot of this one is a bit (read; a lot) of an EgoShipping cliché, but I'd like to think I've put a decent spin on it!

Shippings include: EgoShipping as the prominent ship, LuckyShipping as the side ship (if you don't like these pairings then I suggest you back away now), with mentions of PokeShipping and OldRivalShipping.

Rated M for; Language, adult themes and situations, mild limes in later chapters and some lemons from the third chapter onwards.

**DISCLAIMER:** If I couldn't be screwed forking out fifteen bucks for a Pikachu plushie when I was in town the other day, I think it's pretty obvious that I am not a billionaire, hotshot part owner of the Pokemon franchise. If I were I'd have my fill of dolls for free.

'To The Happy Couple'

Chapter 1: 'Revelation'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

Though it could certainly be debated, calling her didn't really seem like a viable option. That and he really, truly did not want to.

Sure, on one hand she had a right to know, and she certainly deserved to find out in a far less graphic fashion than he had. On the other, more realistic hand, with the bomb he was going to drop on her today, her reaction was going to be unpredictable at best, and nobody did 'unpredictable' quite like Misty Waterflower. Plus there was no real way to know if she would even believe him, or even want to see him; he'd pranked and teased her enough times in the past for it to be perfectly within her rights to take what he was about to tell her as nothing more than another poorly timed party trick. Besides, maybe she already knew?

After making his second surprising discovery in as many seconds he decided he really should call her. To hell with 'unpredictable'. He could take it.

It was well past midday before Gary Oak was finally able to escape his self-imposed prison. As he ran from his house as fast as he could, he phoned Misty and demanded that she meet him at a local bar. Offering no further explanation and hanging up on her in mid-sentence, he wound his way to a park bench and sunk down on the sun-bleached wooden planks, the odd behaviour and strange occurrences of the past few months coming together in his mind all too perfectly now that he could see it. Oh God, he had been such a fucking idiot to ignore all the obvious signs!

Sitting at a terrace table at the agreed upon bar half an hour later, he tried to gather his thoughts. How the hell was he going to tell her what he just saw when just thinking about it made him sick? He didn't have much time to think it over as he saw her approach, her distinctive copper tresses giving her away in any crowd. His mouth went dry, his heart skipped a beat and he felt the ever familiar pang of sadness and longing that seemed to come with seeing her. He watched her peek through the door, trying to find him inside the bar; she frowned, not seeing him in there. As she turned back to check the line of tables out the front he made eye contact, offering a little wave as she sauntered somewhat reluctantly over to him with a small smile.

"You look terrible," Misty said conversationally as she pulled out a stool to sit down. He watched her with a wry smirk.

"Certainly charming today, aren't you Red?" he bit back sarcastically.

"I have to keep up with you somehow, don't I?" she retorted smoothly. Looking up at him properly for the first time, she regarded the clearly distressed man in front of her with a raised eyebrow. "Is something the matter Gary? You don't look well."

"I don't feel very well either," he replied quietly, taking a large gulp of a beer in front of him and pushing another full glass he'd set to the side towards her.

"Maybe you shouldn't be here," she said, eyeing him warily as he motioned to a waitress for another drink. "I don't know why you called me here, much less why I agreed to show up, but I can take you back home to Leaf if you aren't well."

"Leaf and I are done," he told her softly, no inflection present in his voice

"What? Why?"

"Probably because I found out an hour ago that Leaf is cheating on me," he replied emotionlessly.

Misty's eyes widened, shock spreading across her delicate features like wildfire. "Oh God Gary, I'm so sorry!" she reached a hand out to rest on top of his from which he pulled away quickly; that he wouldn't be able to handle.

"There's more."

She waited for him to continue when the words he was about to say died in his throat. He looked torn, and she honestly couldn't imagine what else would be so hard to admit. After years of tentative acquaintance, then more, then suddenly less again, she had never seen him looking so lost.

"It was with Ash," he said eventually, quietly, closing his eyes as the images of what he saw floated through his mind.

Her own eyes widened in disbelief before narrowing dangerously, daring him to lie to her. "What?"

Gary groaned, running a hand down his unshaven face as his leg bounced nervously beneath the table. "Ash, your fiancé, is cheating on you with Leaf, my girlfriend," he ground out as the now familiar surge of livid anger that coursed through his veins.

"…How are you so sure?"

He laughed but it was hollow, devoid of any humour. "Took a wild shot in the dark when I saw them fucking in my bed this morning." He looked up and recognised the wild glint in her bright blue-green eyes as barely contained rage, a look he knew all too well. He waved a hand in front of her face, "Get it together Red, there's still more."

Misty squared herself and took in deep, calming gulps of air, facing Gary front on. "How long has this been going on?" she asked slowly, dangerously, as though she believed he had been keeping this from her on purpose.

He shook his head, "I don't know," he replied honestly, not even bothering to appease her; he could take her mood swings, he'd had a lot of practice. "If I had to guess, I think it's been around six months, probably longer. Leaf started disappearing a lot around her birthday, saying she had more modelling jobs. That was when I first started to notice, but I didn't pay much attention to it since I worked most of the time, and she always came back with mountains of shopping bags."

Comprehension dawned in her eyes as she raked through her memories with a fine toothed comb. "Six months... that actually makes a lot of sense," she said softly. She took a long gulp of her own drink before placing the glass back down on the table and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "You said there was something else?" she reminded him quietly.

He hesitated; a pained expression crossing his face as though he knew what he was about to tell her would hurt her. "Red, I don't know that I should tell you the next part here," he told her lowly, looking around the other terrace tables suspiciously as though he thought someone might be spying on them. Calling her here today, he'd expected tears (she was _so_ in love with Ash after all) not this cool, detached anger that was rolling off her in waves. He was genuinely afraid what he was about to say would push her right off the edge, and nobody wanted to be around when that happened.

Misty swallowed the remainder of her drink in one long, uninterrupted swig, "I'm not sure anything else you could tell me is going to hurt any more than what you've said already," she replied frankly, flagging down the waitress making doe-eyes at Gary from a nearby table to bring her another drink. "Just come out with it."

"Red, I really think I should take you somewhere else for this part."

"What could be worse Gary?" she snapped, "What could be worse than what you've dropped on me already?"

"Leaf is pregnant."

Misty stared, her face falling into an expression he didn't recognise before quickly resuming the stoic, unemotional mask of before.

"And it's definitely not…?"

He laughed, the same humourless laugh that sounded so wrong coming from him, "No Red, it's not mine."

"How do you know?"

"As sweet as Leaf is, she's not the smartest girl. She left her positive pregnancy test in our bathroom. And I know it's not mine because I haven't touched her in, oh, about six months. I guess I walked in on them celebrating," he added bitterly, finishing his drink, adding the empty glass to the other three lined up in front of him and waving for another. So far today had been, well, shit for lack of a better word.

_He'd been suspicious of Leaf for a while. He felt it strange that he wasn't losing any sleep over the issue; any other man would be relentless in his search for answers, but oddly enough he felt content to let Leaf do her own thing. He'd come home early from work that morning after pulling the night shift at the lab. The previous night had been a full moon, and the opportunity for Gary and a small group of other researchers to observe the habits of the Cleffa, Clefairy and Clefable population at Mt Moon at that time had been too much to pass up. _

_The house had been empty, not that this was a strange occurrence; Leaf was a model, only working when it was required of her, so she rarely remained at home during the day if there was something else she could be doing instead. Climbing the stairs he crossed the bedroom to the adjoining bathroom to change out of his dirty clothes into a pair of pajama bottoms so he could finally get some sleep. When he heard the familiar giggles of his longtime girlfriend float up the stairs followed by an undeniably familiar masculine chuckle he quickly locked the door and sat down on the edge of the bathtub, listening unwillingly as their giggles quickly turned into sighs, then gasps, then pants and moans until finally they were both screaming with unrestrained pleasure and frantically declaring their__ appreciation for one another.  
_

_His first reaction as they started again moments later had understandably been anger. Locked in the bathroom, just listening to what was happening on the other side of the door, he wanted nothing more than to kick his way out his hiding place and confront what was happening head on. Instead, he took deep breaths, reined in his anger, and opened the door just a crack when the sounds outside were at a fever pitch and he was sure they wouldn't notice. One look at Leaf entwined with Ash fucking Ketchum on the sheets bought forth the most incredible mix of emotions; a white hot anger, betrayal, sadness, confusion and something else he couldn't quite describe but almost felt like relief. _

_Carefully closing the door again Gary sat back down on the edge of the bathtub, holding his head in his hands. He considered making a break for it; he knew he'd need to collect his thoughts properly before even beginning to think about a possible confrontation. Escape had seemed like a perfectly reasonable course of action until he remembered that the bathroom was in fact on the second floor of the house and he'd most likely break his neck if he tried to escape that way__.__ It was at that moment he turned his head and saw a positive home pregnancy test on the bench, confirming suspicions he couldn't be sure he even wanted confirmed to begin with. _

_Everything ran so much deeper than he first thought._

He needed many, _many_ more drinks.

"Does Leaf know you know?" Misty asked, jarring him from his thoughts.

"I ran out as soon as I could," he answered honestly. "I'm pretty sure I would have killed Ash if I'd stuck around. No offense."

"None taken. But there is another problem that presents itself," Misty began, twirling a lock of hair in her fingers. "Ash is a traditional type of guy."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

She shrugged, "It means that if Leaf is pregnant with his child, he's going to feel obligated to marry her." She exhaled deeply, giving a weak chuckle as everything hit her like a ton of proverbial bricks. "So, in the space of about ten minutes I've found out that the guy I've been living with for the past two years and engaged to for the past four and a half or so years has been having an affair with his best friends' long term girlfriend, that he is fathering said girlfriends' child, and that he is quite possibly already engaged to her without either of them first breaking up with us if what you walked in on this morning is any indication… fuck."

Gary snorted indelicately and held his glass high, "To the happy couple then, I suppose."

Misty sunk forward until her forehead was resting against the edge of the table, "Don't joke."

"I must say though Red, you're handling this much better than I thought you would," he remarked as he watched her pull back up and bring her glass to her lips again.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't think our reactions were oddly reversed from what they should be," she replied, smirking over her glass, "if I'd been the one to catch them I would have done something about it right then and there. I'm actually a little shocked that you didn't, considering how much you hate sharing your toys."

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Excuse me?"

She snorted into her glass, "You heard me; you've been with Leaf for nearly five years, Ash comes in and fucks her into the mattress, knocks her up and you do nothing. Why is that?"

"You don't seem overly cut up yourself Red," he seethed.

"What do you want from me Gary?" she challenged, standing up suddenly, "Tears? Screams? For me to break down completely? What? Tell me!"

"What aren't you upset?"

"Why didn't you do anything?"

It took a moment for either of them to realise the position they both found themselves in; Gary had stood in front of her, one hand wrapped around her right wrist as the other maintained a firm hold of her left hip, both standing almost nose to nose as their eyes burned with anger, though whether it was for the exposed affair of their partners or at each other they weren't sure. All they knew was that it was way too close for either of them.

She let out a sharp exhale and pulled away, a hand coming up to rub both of her eyes in turn. "Sorry, it's been…" she laughed weakly, "it's been a rough day."

Gary managed an equally weak smirk as he sat back down and let out a deep sigh, "That's one way of putting it, I suppose."

"What are you going to do now?"

He stared at the sky as though it held all the answers. He had no idea what he was going to do next. He knew he was going to leave Leaf, there was no way around that now, his brotherly relationship, however tentative and forced it was on his part, with Ash was certainly damaged beyond repair and oddly enough the only person he could speak to honestly about everything was was Misty, a girl he once vowed to never interfere with, let alone think about again.

"I suppose Leaf and I will have to have a little chat, sort out the… living arrangements and a few other things." He crossed his legs beneath the table and stretched back.

"You're going to kick Leaf out?" she asked incredulously.

He gave a short bark of laughter, "I'm not raising another guy's kid under my roof. The only kids that will ever be in that house will be my own." He waved his hand dismissively, "Leaf's baby is Ash's problem."

"She'll move in with Ash, won't she?" Misty breathed, panic settling in slightly. "Gary, where the hell am I going to go?"

"Who says you have to go anywhere? It's your house isn't it? _He_ moved in with _you_."

"But if he and Leaf – "

"If he and Leaf are going to do anything," he cut in, "they can do it on their own. You and I don't owe either of them a thing anymore Red, so don't worry about that. If he so much as tries to kick you out I'll hit him."

"Shouldn't you want to hit him anyway?" she asked with the slightest hint of a smile.

He nodded, "And I do. You cannot imagine how hard I want to punch Ash right now."

"Oh, I think I can." She sighed deeply and stretched her arms above her head. "How are you feeling now?"

"I'm angry. There is a lot I'd like to say to Leaf, and at the moment I firmly believe Ash has far too many teeth in his mouth and I'd love to fix that problem for him. But I'm not sad; pissed beyond belief, but not sad."

"You aren't upset the girl you were very nearly about to marry cheated on you?" Misty asked disbelievingly, leaning an elbow further forward on the table and resting her chin in her hand.

"Neither are you, Red," he replied smoothly. "Anyone would cry, scream, _anything _at the things I just told you and they wouldn't be blamed in the slightest, but not you."

"I think we're both a bit too drunk to become so introspective. I don't know what you want me to say."

"And I'm not too sure I know what it is I want to hear," he whispered, shaking his head as the alcohol he had consumed started to loosen his tongue. "I am so unbelievably pissed off," he breathed, "at Leaf and especially at Ash," he closed his eyes and shook his head, "the fact that he'd do this _again_ is just… beyond unbelievable. And Leaf, I don't even know what to think there. But," he looked up at her from underneath his eyelashes, an expression of unflinching sincerity on his handsome features, "I wasn't the best boyfriend to Leaf, I know that. There was always someone else, always in the back of my mind and I'm pretty sure she knew that."

Misty slowly looked up at him, biting back a gasp, "Don't do this Gary. You're drunk; you don't know what you're saying," she warned. This train of thought was dangerous for both of them.

"Do you ever think about what might have happened?" he asked, almost pleading with her. The very thought of Gary Oak pleading with anyone for anything would have been almost too much for her to believe had she not been witnessing it before her very eyes. Not once had he ever begged her for anything.

The subject of Ash and Leaf was thrown to the wind and suddenly Misty was wishing they could go back to discussing their partners and bitching about how wronged they felt while swilling beers. That was safe territory, better for them both. "This isn't the time, place or anything else for this conversation Gary!" she snapped, looking around at those sitting at the nearby tables to check that nobody was overhearing.

"It hasn't been the time or place for five fucking years Red!" he yelled, slamming a hand down on the table for added effect, smirking inwardly at the startled reactions of the fellow patrons around them. "We've skirted around this issue, hiding it remarkably well from Ash and Leaf I might add, and now that we're finally in a position where we can talk about what happened I think we should!"

"Two hours removed from finding your girlfriend in a compromising position with my fiancé is not a good enough time, nor is a random bar after five beers the right place to bring up the past Gary!" she hissed, her eyes narrowing dangerously with each passing moment they stared at each other. "Besides, you were the one who insisted we never speak of it again!" she retorted childishly, crossing her arms over her chest and falling back into her seat with a huff.

"Wasn't exactly my choice Red," he seethed, "You wanted me to back off and I did."

Misty closed her eyes and took several deep, calming breaths, willing a sense of peace to fall over her so she wouldn't give in to her desire to scream to the heavens how confused and lost she had been all those years ago. "What if I promise we can talk later?" she proposed quietly, watching as his jaw unclenched and the anger and frustration in his eyes gradually melted away. "Now isn't the time, but when everything has been sorted out, we'll talk properly, alright?"

He let out a breath he didn't even realise he'd been holding. "I'd like that," he said simply.

Moments passed as a warm breeze fluttered past them before Misty spoke again, "What will you do now?" she asked again.

"Go home, I suppose," he said slowly, lining up his old glasses in front of him in a neat line. "You're right; the talk can't really wait, especially if she's pregnant. I don't know if I want Ash there or not."

"Do you want me to come with you? If they're both still there it might be easier if we do this together."

He shook his head, "We're probably better off doing this separately. Besides," he continued with a smirk, "I don't think Ash would appreciate you and me making a grand entrance together, despite everything he's been doing with Leaf."

Misty let out a weak laugh, "Probably not," she agreed. She reached down to the floor to pick up her satchel bag, slinging it over her shoulder and standing up. "I should probably get going, things to do and all that. How much for the drinks?" she asked, moving to grab her wallet.

Gary waved his hand, "It's on me this time. You've earned it," he swallowed the last of his beer and stood up, surprising them both when he didn't stagger or lose his balance. "Hell, we both did."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

She regarded him oddly for a moment. "Thank you, for everything. You didn't have to do anything, let alone tell me what was happening, but it means a lot that you did."

"I promised you distance five years ago Red, but you deserved to know what was going on," he replied mildly, slipping his hands into his pockets before speaking again, "Would you give me a call when you've talked to Ash? I want to know what he tells you."

"Just as I'm curious as to what Leaf is going to say," she said quietly, tugging the strap of her bag higher up her shoulder.

They stared at each other, knowing it was time to part and go back to their lives. They hadn't been alone together in years; what exactly would be an appropriate gesture of 'until next time'? Eventually Gary took a deep breath and stepped forward, throwing caution to the wind as he gently grasped her shoulder and pressed a lingering kiss on her cheek, feeling his head begin to swim with a thousand different possibilities as he did so; would she hit him? Would she yell at him for having the self-control of an awkward fifteen year old? Inwardly he prayed she would simply put his stupid actions down to the alcohol he'd consumed, but he couldn't help but rejoice for the feel of her soft skin against his lips for the first time in five years.

He pulled back to see the incredibly conflicted expression on her flushed face. Clearing his throat he stood back awkwardly. "Well," he began, deciding that the architecture of the bar was the most fascinating thing in the world. "I guess I'll talk to you… later."

She stared at his hand which was still resting on her shoulder before he pulled away as though he had been burned. "Yeah," she said distantly. "Are you sure you're okay to get home? You drank a fair bit."

"I'll be fine. Over the years I've built up a bit of a tolerance," he told her with a wry smile, "Good luck with Ash."

"And you with Leaf."

With a nod, Gary and Misty turned and parted ways, surges of anger sweeping through them both as Gary wanted to slap himself for making an already awkward conversation even worse with his sudden need to feel close to her once more while Misty simply cursed herself for letting Gary get that close again. This was exactly why they couldn't be alone together to begin with.

Their minds didn't stay on the subject of their odd meeting for long. As they each neared their respective homes, their thoughts quickly turned to how exactly they were going to confront Ash and Leaf with the knowledge that they already knew everything. The only thing either of them knew for sure was that after tonight, their lives were going to change forever.

* * *

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**AN: **Yes, it's vague so far! It's to suck you in keep you here!

Is it terrible that I think I'm enjoying this one more than STSS? It feels almost like I'm playing favourites with my children or something!

I can't guarantee updates will be as regular for this story as it was for STSS, but I promise you'll never have to wait longer than two weeks unless I let you know otherwise.

Anyhoo, I hope you're intrigued enough to keep reading and leave me lots of reviews! Those who do (registered users, of course) will get a message from me and… I don't know what else…maybe a preview of the next chapter if I have enough of it done to tease you all with. I have three done so far so we'll see…


	2. Confrontation

Welcome back! The response to this story so far has been awesome, so thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and followed so far, it is very much appreciated! Know that if I could, I'd gift you all with real things! Hey, that might even be a thing! That settles it; I'm going to devise some sort of competition, and the winner gets a Pokemon of their choice cross-stitched by me! I'll sort out a competition and give details next chapter!

As far as this story goes, I'm playing with versions of the characters very different to what I used in STSS (case and point; Gary isn't a millionaire playboy here), but still trying to keep them true to their original characters in the anime. For the sake of the story they are kind of OOC, but I think we can all roll with that for the time being, right? If it gets too weird let me know and I'll see what I can do.

If anyone was curious, I'd say the characters are all around the 23-24 age mark.

**DISCLAIMER:** Hasn't changed. I'm still poor and stuck with a crappy laptop that needs its battery replaced.

'To the Happy Couple'

Chapter 2: 'Confrontation'

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* * *

There were many ways this could go.

Gary considered the clichéd, yet hilarious reveal; him sitting on a high-backed leather swivel chair with his back to the door in the dark, spinning around as Leaf entered the room and turned on the lights, revealing him in all his imposing glory as he stroked a purring Skitty on his lap only to start speaking in dodgy puns and obscure riddles as Leaf tried to talk her way out of being a cheating bitch. The mere thought had him doubling over in laughter until his sides were cramping.

Perhaps he was a little drunker than he thought.

He came to the conclusion that the classic 'bad guy' reveal would not work for two reasons; one, he didn't even own a high-backed leather swivel chair and two, he wasn't a six year old girl and therefore had absolutely no desire to obtain a Skitty for any reason. Instead he settled on the sofa and waited in silence for Leaf to come back.

Four strong cups of coffee, eight splashes of ice water to the face and three hours of simply sitting in the dark had Gary feeling at least halfway to sober. His head was still swimming with half-finished thoughts and long suppressed feelings that were clawing their way to the surface once more, everything fighting for place at the forefront of his mind. He only felt somewhat guilty that his mind was so divided; in hindsight his conversation with Misty probably would have worked better for them both had he simply called her or left a mysterious note in her letterbox instead of insisting on a face to face meeting. She couldn't have been more right when she said they could never be alone together all those years ago. He couldn't help but think that he'd royally fucked up everything with that stupid kiss, not matter how chaste and quick and _on her goddamn cheek_ it may have been. With any luck she wouldn't hold it against him and they could just forget about it; he drank a fair bit after all.

And then there was the… _situation_ with Leaf, a situation that should have demanded his undivided attention. A part of him wanted to disappear, coming back to confront Leaf when he was good and ready, not on the skirts of sober with a pounding headache and far less patience than was going to be required for the conversation they were about to have, but another part of him didn't want to have to wait anymore. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner they could both be free.

In his haze of boredom, Gary looked around at his home. He lived comfortably; as a junior researcher he wasn't exactly rolling in wealth but it wasn't as though he went without. It had been three years since Leaf had invited herself to live with him, Gary going along with the idea in the hopes that taking the next steps with her would finally cure him of his long repressed feelings for Misty. It had always confused him that Leaf had never made any effort to make the home her own, but the sake of his own sanity his thoughts never really lingered on that; even now it was still a little difficult for him to fully comprehend that it was Leaf and not Misty that lived with him. Had everything continued the way it was meant to, before Ash made his _triumphant _return, there was no doubt in his mind Misty would have been an Oak by now, and maybe they'd have started a family together.

He groaned and clutched a hand to his head, standing up and padding over to the kitchen, fully intending to knock back an entire package of painkillers if need be. The rattling of keys in a lock and the doorknob being opened stopped him in his tracks. He sprinted back to the living room before Leaf could step over the threshold, sliding on the rug and stumbling slightly, landing on the sofa as the door opened with all the grace and delicacy of a newborn Ponyta.

They stared at each other warily as she simply stood looking conflicted at the doorway. Leaf really was a beautiful woman. Her slender figure the cause of much jealousy among her female friends, long, wavy chocolate brown hair and bright green eyes that reminded him of springtime; it wouldn't come as a shock to anyone to learn that she was a professional model. If Gary wasn't so desperately in love with another it wouldn't be difficult to picture a life with her.

"Hello Leaf," he greeted casually.

"Gary," she replied quickly, crossing the room to hang her coat on the stand before moving to the kitchen. Before he could stop himself, Gary stood up and walked after her.

"I guess congratulations are in order then," he said nonchalantly, pouring a glass of water from the tap as she perused the contents of their fridge. No sense beating around the bush.

Leaf froze, her outstretched hand stopping midway to a tray filled with various chopped vegetables. "What are you talking about?" she asked shakily, her normally prettily blushing face paling at an alarming rate.

"Well, you are pregnant, correct?" he leaned against the kitchen counter and watched her slowly turn to face him, a look combining horror, sadness and anger crossing her features.

"How the hell-"

"And obviously it isn't mine,"

"How did you-"

"Tell me, how did Ashy boy take it when you told him?" he asked, examining his fingernails.

Her eyes widened almost comically, "How do you-"

"Maybe you ought to double check that you're actually alone in the house before you start fucking other guys in our bed," Gary cut in again, still sounding for all the world as though he was simply discussing the weather.

"You know?"

"Yes, heard the whole sordid thing from the bathroom. Even saw a bit by accident. I'm sure you won't hold it against me that I elected not to come out and chat."

She shook her head dejectedly, slumping against the opposite counter. "I didn't want to tell you like this," she whispered.

He laughed hollowly, "Tell me sweetheart, how exactly _would_ you have told me that in addition to screwing Ash on a regular basis, you're also carrying his child?"

He could tell she wanted to be angry with him, her own rage was simmering just beneath the surface but for some reason she was holding back. "How did you find out about the baby? Did Ash tell you?"

From his jeans pocket Gary produced the pregnancy test box, flattened and folded to fit. He waved the cardboard in front of her almost tauntingly, reveling inwardly at the look of shock on her face. "Don't leave your evidence lying around where anyone can find it," he flicked the box in her direction, both watching as it fluttered to the floor between them.

"I wish I could say that I'm sorry for what has happened Gary," she whispered after a moments' tense silence, "but I'm not. I'm sorry you found out the way you did, but not for anything else."

"When did this start Leaf? When exactly did you start sneaking behind my back to start up with the one guy that, of all the fucking guys in the world, you should not have started up with?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"We were best friends!" he cried, "As little kids it was you, me and Ash! We were supposed to stick together but _this_…"

Contrary to popular opinion, Leaf was no idiot. The three of them may have been best friends at some point but that had ended for the most part when they had begun to drift apart at the ripe old age of seven. Gary could whine about solidarity and their little trio all he wanted but that wasn't the issue and hadn't been for over fifteen years.

"Don't give me that bullshit Gary, that's not the problem and you know it! What's your real problem with Ash?"

"My problem with Ash isn't the issue here," he shot back dismissively, "How long Leaf?"

She sighed, long and loud, "Two and a half years, give or take," she replied, "At the beginning it was just to talk. We never slept together until about a year later."

Gary's jaw fell open. Fuck, he really hadn't been paying any attention at all, had he?

Leaf scoffed at his silence, "Surely it's not such a huge shock Gary. The bigger surprise here is that you didn't cheat on me!"

He spun around and fixed her with a penetrating glare so intense that she was frightened to maintain eye contact, "Do you really think so little of me?" he whispered dangerously.

"You clearly aren't happy with me!" she cried passionately, "And you're in love with someone else! It would almost make sense if you did decide to…well, you know."

"Unlike you Leaf, I would never stoop so low."

"So you'd rather we both stayed miserable? Is that it? You'd rather pine over some girl who clearly wants nothing to do with you while you string me along for the ride?"

"I would never betray you!" he yelled, fighting the explosive level of anger that was threatening to burst forth, "A concept that seems very foreign to you. Even though we've been on a downward spiral, I'd never take your trust in me and hurl it back in your face!"

"I know you wouldn't," Leaf sighed and leaned on her elbows on the bench, resting her head in her hands, "How about we just agree that we're both at fault here," she proposed quietly.

His jaw clenched as he almost objected, but he nodded stiffly, "Fair enough, I suppose."

"I never meant to hurt you Gary," she said softly as they calmed back down again, "and I never intended for it to go this far. All I wanted was to feel wanted and needed; I never got that from you."

"And you get it from him?"

"That and so much more," she breathed.

"Then by all means, don't let me stand in your way," he said sarcastically as he moved to leave the kitchen.

"Can you tell me who she is?" she called after him hesitantly.

He turned and looked at her, surprised, "Ash never told you?"

She shook her head, "I spent so much time hating the woman you seem to love so much. I wanted to know but Ash refused to tell me," she gave a snort that was almost ladylike coming from her, "I think he was worried that if I knew I'd have somewhere to focus my rage and maybe hurt her."

He looked at her with a mix of curiosity and reluctance on his features. "Would you hurt her?"

Leaf shook her head, "I'm not angry anymore, with her or you."

He hesitated, but knew Leaf deserved answers. "I'll tell you after I tell her."

"Seems fair," she nodded. "I did plan on telling you everything," she told him gently. "It was never going to make a difference, whatever we did or didn't do. We both deserve happiness and we're never going to find it with each other."

"And are you happy with him?"

It was a loaded question and she took a moment to consider her answer. "I am," she replied confidently. "I'm going to have a baby Gary," she gave a watery smile. "I'm going to be a mum."

Inwardly, and almost purely on reflex, Gary had to return the smile; it had been so long since Leaf had smiled at him for any reason beyond simply being polite. In his mind however, Gary felt as though he'd earned the right to be angry at that moment, and he couldn't help but play the antagonist a moment longer.

"Fuck, I hate Ash," he muttered to himself, "Anyone else I might have been able to handle but _fuck_! It had to be Ash, didn't it? Why him?" he continued under his breath.

"He makes me happy Gary," she answered defensively, only just hearing his ramblings, "Does it really matter who it is? Don't be mad at me for wanting to be happy when you clearly weren't up to the task!"

"I'm not mad at you, alright?" he yelled, hands fisting through his hair almost aggressively to keep from smashing nearby glassware. "I know I was the shittiest boyfriend imaginable! It's just…"

"Just what?" Leaf asked softly, gasping quietly at the unshed tears gathering in his eyes.

"Nothing," he whispered, "nothing at all." Without another word Gary spun quickly on his heel, grabbing his jacket from the stand near the door and throwing it around his shoulders. He didn't spare so much as a glance back at Leaf as he pulled the door open and stepped out into the cold night air.

Leaf let out a deep breath, clutching a hand to her chest. From the kettle on the counter she filled a cup to the brim with boiling water and began to dip a teabag through it, feeling herself begin to calm down as the amber liquid slid smoothly down her throat and warmed her from the inside out. In her heart of hearts, Leaf knew she would always love Gary, as one of her first friends then as something more, for the rest of her life, but she wasn't naïve enough to keep fooling herself; there was nothing left for her with Gary anymore, and if she were completely honest with herself, there never was. She finished her tea and left the kitchen and ascended the stairs to their shared bedroom, opening the wardrobe to pull out a suitcase she had packed that morning; she had been ready for this moment for months now, though the fact that she'd be pregnant when the moment came had never once crossed her mind.

Coming back down to the kitchen she found a pen and a notebook. Quickly she wrote Gary a letter, letting him know where she was going so he wouldn't panic when he came back, and reiterating how sorry she was and that all she ever wanted was for him to be happy. She made a final scan around the house that was never really hers and wiped a tear from her cheek. _It wasn't supposed to hurt this much._

Sighing heavily, Leaf picked up a picture of herself and Gary at a gala event in honour of his grandfather. They had been together for a little over a year at that point and looking closely at the picture now it was obvious Gary's smile didn't reach his eyes. Deciding that Gary probably wouldn't want to keep the picture after everything that had happened between them, she quickly unzipped the front flap of her suitcase and stuffed the photo inside.

For now she would go to her mother. Tomorrow she would find Ash again and they could work out where they would go from this point. Ash had promised so many beautiful things that morning when she told him of her pregnancy, she just had to hope he could make good on them.

**-XXX-**

How in the hell was she going to do this?

She'd paced the length of her living room at least a hundred times up and down trying to gather her thoughts well enough to have a civil conversation with Ash when he arrived but no, Gary just had to swan into her life once again, reducing her brain to the processing power of a plate of scrambled eggs.

_Stupid Gary,_ she fumed childishly to herself. _Stupid bloody Gary, all nice, making me remember things!_

Huffing in frustration, Misty sat back down on a reclining chair and leaned back, letting out a deep sigh as she sank into the squishy softness. She closed her eyes; shouldn't he be home by now? She'd been waiting over three hours now. She considered calling Gary, finding out if Leaf had been home at all but dismissed the thought almost immediately. _Not until I bloody well have to, _she told herself sternly.

Her eyes shot open at the sound of keys jingling on the other side of the door. Sitting up straight, she turned to the door with a determined expression on her face, watching as Ash stepped through and kicked off his shoes and hung a coat on the stand. He still hadn't noticed her as he hummed happily to himself, a giddy smile firmly plastered on his face. As he turned to face the living room, the smile fell immediately as he took in the sight of Misty, an unreadable expression on her face.

For a few uncomfortable moments they simply stared at each other; Misty unable to control the overabundance of emotions fighting for control of her face, while Ash simply looked conflicted.

"We need to talk," they spoke together, spontaneously dissolving into a fit of giggles as they did so, though they both knew what was about to happen was anything but funny.

Still chuckling to himself, Ash walked over and took a seat opposite Misty. Leaning forward he entwined his fingers and rested his chin on them. He appeared to be choosing his words carefully, looking at Misty with an expression of such deep thoughtfulness she couldn't help but notice looked rather out of place on him.

"There's something I need to tell you," he began in a cautious tone, unable to hide his nervousness.

"There's something I need to tell you too," she replied easily, relaxing back into her seat and crossing her arms.

At her words Ash's expression became one of half terror and half anticipation. "Um, ladies first, I suppose," he said reluctantly.

She took a deep breath, steadying her nerves before deciding to simply be direct. "I know about you and Leaf," she said bluntly.

"Oh," Ash shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well, that makes things easier!" he joked weakly.

"Indeed," Misty sneered. "So I guess the first thing I should ask is; what the fuck, Ash?"

He let out a deep sigh and ran a hand down the length of his face, "Where should I start?"

"I've always felt that the beginning was a good place to start things," she leaned back into the seat and crossed her arms defiantly. "I guess the big question is why?"

"Because you don't love me," he replied simply. "But that's only a small part of it."

"So this is some sort of whacked punishment?" Misty yelled incredulously, feeling every muscle in her body tighten in anticipation, "You make some completely unfounded assumption about my feelings for you and decide to jump into bed with the first willing female available to you without even talking to me about everything? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Misty, please calm down!" Ash shot to his feet and held out his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Of course I wasn't trying to punish you! It's… it's really a long story, but believe me when I say I never meant to hurt you-"

"-Oh, and a fantastic job you're doing on that!" she cut in sarcastically.

"Just- please hear me out! There is more to it, okay?"

"Dazzle me Ash. Dazzle me with your excuses as to why you deemed it so necessary to jump to such ridiculous conclusions and why you continued to string me along while you swanned off with Leaf."

"Misty," he began tentatively after a tense moment of silence as he sat back down in his seat, "you never really spoke about what you were doing before I came back, but I can only guess it involved Gary somehow, right?"

"What the hell does this have to do with Gary?" Misty asked angrily through clenched teeth.

"Kind of everything," Ash replied with a sigh.

"What are you on about? This is about you and me right now!"

"Misty, do you realise that Gary is completely in love with you?"

Her jaw dropped and she suddenly became incredibly uncomfortable in her squishy chair.

"I'm not mad, or anything really," Ash said as he took in her squirming form, "But like I said, you never talked about whatever was going on with you and Gary before I came home, but Gary on the other hand stares at me like he's hoping lasers will shoot from his eyes and dissolve my brains or something," he chuckled at his own imagery, "Can you please tell me now what the deal with the two of you was?"

She squirmed in her seat. When the hell did this become about her? "We were… together, I guess."

He didn't look upset, angry or even disappointed at the confession. If anything, the look on his face was something akin to relief, like finally having a long held suspicion confirmed made all the difference in the world. Smiling still, he continued, "When I finally came home, I was so happy to think I might finally have a chance with you. I'd wanted you for so long I couldn't see anything else. You remember the moment I walked through the door? Ma had thrown that huge surprise party and everyone was there. I grabbed you by the shoulders and took you aside and kissed you, and you kissed back. I never even noticed Brock pull Gary aside or how angry he looked until we'd pulled apart and even then I didn't care. I was blinded by happiness. I didn't see until ages later how miserable you were-"

"-I was not miserable!"

"Yes, you were. I stole you, Misty, and I held you hostage," he gave a sad smile and reached for her hand across the table, "I probably stared at you with great big puppy dog eyes and made you feel guilty for wanting anything else. I was so selfish to think that after all those years you'd still want to be with me, that I could just waltz on in and steal you away. I mean, did you ever wonder why I stopped pressing for our wedding?"

She had wondered why. Officially, they had been engaged for around four years. In the beginning, Ash had been incredibly enthusiastic in his zeal to begin preparations while Misty was the first to admit she had been somewhat lackluster in her own response.

"I knew it would be wrong," he continued, "but I didn't have the balls to end it right then and there when I should have. I wanted to keep you for as long as I could, figuring that you'd come around eventually. But after about a year and a half it became painfully obvious that I wasn't what you wanted; that was when I started meeting Leaf."

Misty gasped; had Ash seriously been carrying this affair on with Leaf for the past two and a half years?

"In the beginning it was never about sex," he continued, "It took nearly a year to get to that point. We'd been friends since we were little so it was so easy for us to just talk and keep each other company. I told her about how you and I were steadily pulling away from each other, and she talked a lot about Gary and about how their relationship being far less than what she dreamed."

"And what exactly did she dream?"

"Leaf had a huge crush on Gary even when we were little that she never really grew out of. What she dreamed was for her childhood dream to be reality; to be Gary's one and only, which she wasn't, isn't and will never be," he replied simply. "You've held that title for years now. In case you're curious, I never told Leaf, so I assume she doesn't know. Anyway, our conversations went on from there. We were both depressed, our relationships going nowhere; Leaf and I both felt needed with each other."

"Why Leaf anyway?" she asked quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you seem so concerned with the fact that you… _stole _me or whatever from Gary. You've had so much success; you could have had anyone really. Why would you do it again and take Leaf away?"

"I guess…" he trailed off hesitantly, "It doesn't make it any better and it makes me sound like a terrible human being, but Leaf was never really Gary's, not the way you were, so the guilt was never the same." He looked up at Misty once more, an odd expression on his face.

"Keep going," she prodded.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't expect to ever count Gary as a friend again after this. He never forgave me for taking you, I fully expect a punch to the jaw and worse next time I see him." Ash rubbed the side of his jaw as though preparing for the hit, "From the very beginning of their, I use the term very loosely, relationship, it was pretty clear to Leaf she was going nowhere fast. She was so happy when she moved in with him because she thought maybe he was finally starting to move on, but apparently it only got worse. He was withdrawn most of the time, he never wanted to talk, and basically he showed no real interest in moving anything forward. I'm fairly certain he loved her in his own way, but it was nothing more than strong friendship.

"Leaf was pissed off, though she's calmed down now. A lot of our initial chats were just her screaming at me to vent her frustrations but she's a tad mellower now. She knew Gary wasn't cheating on her, you know, like she was," he added with a wry smirk, "But I think she always felt… strung along by Gary."

"If Gary felt so strongly about me then why did he keep going along with Leaf?"

"For your sake," Ash replied simply, "He thought we were happy and that's all he'll ever want for you. Don't tell him I know this, but Gary actually talked a lot about what happened between the two of you to Brock, though God knows when exactly those two became friends-"

"Two years before you came home," she told him almost mechanically as she tried to process all the information she'd been fed, "I think you were still in Unova at the time, they were both invited to the same Breeders convention. They hit it off really well without, well, you there. They're great friends now. Gary was the one who hooked Brock up with Suzie again."

"That's cool I suppose," Ash replied lightly, rubbing his neck with a gentle pressure, "I overheard them talking one day. It wasn't all that long after I came back and we started going out, I went over to the Oak lab to see the Professor, instead I ended up hearing Brock and Gary talking about how Gary couldn't keep doing this to himself, how he should fight for you, things like that. Gary said that he assumed you were happy. He said you told him to stay away and move on, and that he knew Leaf had a crush on him so it made things simpler."

That was surprising, "Brock never told me that."

"I guess Gary would have made him take some sort of vow of secrecy," Ash replied, chuckling slightly. "He really thought he was doing you a favour; Gary wouldn't have wanted you to know he wasn't over you. If he and Brock really are friends, Brock would have respected that."

"There's still one more thing though," Misty began, plotting in her mind a little meeting between her and Brock soon.

"What's that?"

"Aren't you forgetting something important here Ash?"

His face paled considerably, "What might that be?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"I know about the baby too," she whispered.

He gaped at her disbelievingly but made no move to deny the accusation. "How did – how do you know about that? Leaf hasn't told a soul except for me, who told you?"

If there was ever a time to start telling the truth, Misty supposed it would probably be now. "Gary told me. I met him this afternoon and he told me everything."

If it were possible, Misty would say Ash's eyes widened even further upon that statement. "And how may I ask did Gary know?"

She shifted oddly in her seat again, "You and Leaf weren't as alone this morning as you might have thought," she replied quickly in a volume barely above a whisper. "He was in the bathroom the whole time."

Ash's eyes bugged out his head once more, "What?"

"I don't know what Leaf told you about where Gary may or may not have been but he was changing in the bathroom when you and Leaf decided to throw down. He found the empty box and the positive pregnancy test on the bench in there."

"So you're telling me, he was there… for everything? And he didn't do a damn thing?"

"I know, that's what I said," she grumbled.

He let out a deep exhale, "Huh, that's odd."

"I said that too."

His face scrunched up in confusion, "I thought Gary would do… something, at least. Punch me if nothing else."

"Correct me if I'm wrong Ash," she began slowly, "but isn't that a good thing? Do you really want Gary coming after you?"

"He wouldn't be Gary if he didn't!"

"He didn't last time," she pointed out.

"Because he thought you were happy!" he all but exploded, jumping out of his seat and pacing exasperatedly, "He wouldn't do anything to me because he thought it would hurt you!"

"Maybe he thinks the same thing now then," she reasoned, "Maybe he won't do anything again for Leaf's sake."

"But… it still makes no sense. I wouldn't blame him if he came after me; I actually deserve it this time."

"You deserved it the first time," she retorted.

For a short while, Ash simply stared at her, "Do you still love him? Did you ever stop?"

"… I don't know," she answered honestly, "It's been a long time. I think…" Misty couldn't help the laugh that escaped through the midst of tears that began to stream down her face, "This is such a mess."

Ash let out a weak chuckle and moved to sit beside her, "That it most certainly is,"

"I do love you Ash."

"I know you do Mist. I love you too."

"Are you going to marry her?"

"I have to," he replied simply, "I owe it her and our child to try and have a go at this. We're good friends at least, that should count for something."

Misty sighed deeply, "Ash, you should be marrying her because you want to, not because you feel obligated."

"A leaf out of your book then?"

"That was a terrible pun Ash," she said flatly.

He chuckled lightly, "Not my finest, I'll admit."

She took a deep breath, "What now?"

"I'll move out. I should be out of here by tomorrow afternoon, I already started packing earlier. After that, I guess I'll look for somewhere with Leaf, start getting ready for the baby."

"I'm glad you decided to stick by her and the baby," she flashed what she hoped was an encouraging smile, "So many other guys would have run as far as they could in the opposite direction."

"I plan on taking responsibility. I don't know what will happen with Leaf but I'm willing to do it all for her."

_So, this is it then?_ In spite of herself, Misty began to cry as Ash looked on awkwardly, never having learned to deal with her tears. With only a brief flash of hesitancy, he extended his arms around her shoulders in a comforting hug, her head falling straight to his shoulder as her body wracked with sobs.

"I'm sorry it ended this way Mist," he whispered into her hair, "You don't deserve any of this, I'm so sorry I hurt you."

She gave a watery laugh, "It's not all your fault Ash, I have to take some of the blame here. If I hadn't made you feel like you had no more options you wouldn't have done it."

"Still though, I'll always love you. You were my first, well… everything. I hate that it came to this."

Her tears came back with a vengeance. "I'm sorry I couldn't love you properly," she sobbed.

Ash held her tighter and shushed her, "Don't apologise. It's not your fault, none of it is. This is all me. You can't help the way you feel."

They sat like that until Misty's shoulders stopped shaking and her sobs dried up, Ash offering what little comfort he could all the while knowing he was the biggest contributor to her grief. The guilt he felt for making her so upset her was positively palpable; they were meant to be best friends! Best friends don't do to each other what Ash did to her! But what he had found with Leaf, he couldn't find it within himself to be sorry for that.

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**AN: **I was going to write more, but it felt right to end it there!

Since Leaf isn't an anime character and I have never read a piece of OldRivalShipping before in my life, I admit to taking many liberties with her character!

Even if it is a little weird, I don't think Ash and Misty are the sort of people who can stay mad at each other, no matter the circumstances. I think their friendship is stronger than that.

And because I'm bored, we bought a puppy this morning! An adorable little beagle to go with our other two beagles! So since I'm usually the only one home during the week I'm going to be having some puppy adventures that may hamper updates a little but it shouldn't be too drastic :)

Once again, those who review will be gifted with a sneak peak of the next chapter which will hopefully answer any lingering questions you'll have but will be almost entirely flashbacks.


	3. Illumination

This chapter is told over a series of flashbacks detailing the relationship between Gary and Misty both before and after Ash's involvement. Hopefully it'll answer any questions you have.

**There will be a lemon in this chapter** coming under the 'five and a half years ago' banner (actually the whole part is a lemon bar a couple of sentences) but I will say that it is rather tame and rather short. If you don't like scenes of a sexual nature or are underage give it a miss.

Dates aren't approximate by any means; they are just a rough guide. Consider each '? Years ago' part to give or take a few months. If I make a mistake regarding the timeline of the story that is glaringly obvious tell me.

**DISCLAIMER: **While it would be awesome of one's life could change so drastically in a week, mine has not; still no Pokemon to add to my non-existent share portfolio. Incidentally though, I did manage to find a replacement battery for my laptop so that's all good now!

'To the Happy Couple'

Chapter 3: 'Illumination'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

**SIX YEARS AGO**

Every year it was the same; the same decorations only with the colours changed to suit the theme, the same stuffy workers who looked as though it would only take a mix up between dips to throw them off the edge into a stress induced coma. Hell, he was even pretty sure Lance gave the exact same speech to the exact same guests last year!

The 54th Annual Indigo League Ball, while undeniably beautiful decorated as it was for the massively clichéd 'Winter Wonderland' theme, was essentially on repeat. Internally, Gary lamented the fact that his presence was required every year to represent the Oak name. Even as a child he had come with his massively influential parents even though a gala ball was the very last place a parent should take a small child who had a horrible habit of throwing temper tantrums at the most inopportune times and in the worst possible places. On the plus side though, he was really getting his monies worth out of his suit. As he sipped on his flute of champagne (cheap, fizzy vinegar-tasting shit it was) he groaned inwardly as Lance, head of the Pokemon League and current Champion, sauntered over to him, beckoning an incredibly attractive red head to follow him.

Gary fought to keep his jaw from dropping. The woman was absolutely gorgeous, and he should know; the past three years of League events, all he'd ever done was watch her, wondering what made her so different that he couldn't find it within himself to approach her first. In the vast sea of silvers, whites and pale blues that most of the women were wearing to fit in with the theme, the red head bucked the trend in a clinging, flowing column of black silk, highlighting her soft, creamy skin. Her soft hair flowed down her back like a river of fire, her turquoise eyes sparked in the soft light. She smiled in the same long suffering way he was, as though she too was sick of these repetitious League events, a sentiment he could relate to perfectly.

As Lance and the mystery woman neared, he quickly closed his mouth, surreptitiously mussed his hair and donned an easy smirk, standard operation when dealing with new women. "Misty Waterflower, you know Gary Oak, don't you?" Lance gestured towards Gary as his jaw dropped again on hearing the name; not Ash's Misty? The gangly, overly tomboyish girl who hung around Ash as kids? "Gary here is the scientist commissioned to work with the Elite Fours' Pokemon before the upcoming tournament."

"Of course I know Gary Oak," she replied silkily as she extended a hand, "Gary here made it his life's work to torture my best friend."

Regrouping quickly, Gary flashed another smirk as he took her hand and pressed a light kiss to her knuckles, "Only because your best friend made it his life's work to make it so easy," he winked.

Misty gave a syrupy sweet laugh, "I can't imagine what you mean by that."

Gary scoffed, "Oh come on, surely you're just being polite? The other two Pallet Town trainers who left that day and I all heard the story of Ash sending a Caterpie out to fight a Pidgey. How can someone, who had allegedly wanted to be a Pokemon trainer since he learned what Pokemon are, be so stupid?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Like you were ever better! You know he was just a beginner; that was his first ever battle!"

"You are deluding yourself if you truly believe Ash Ketchum was ever better than me," he retorted smugly. "How about his first Gym battle then? A Pikachu out to face an Onix? There's no excuse for that one and you know it!" he shook his head in mock dismay.

"He still won it though, didn't he?"

"Sheer dumb luck," Gary smirked as he up-ended his champagne flute and swallowed the contents.

Lance stood to the side, watching enraptured as sparks seemed to fly between the two, a knowing smile on his face.

"And you would know about dumb luck!" Gary continued as though Misty wasn't eyeing him venomously, "He didn't even win at your Gym; Team Rocket just provided a convenient distraction! Hell, how many of those badges did he actually win to earn?"

"He did just fi-"

"Come on Red, I've got more than a weeks' worth of examples of Ash's more than incredible stupidity and insane good fortune and you know it."

Misty let her arms fall from her hips to her sides in a defeated gesture, "Aren't you and he supposed to be friends?"

He nodded and moved to take a canapé from a server weaving through the crowd. "And friends always tell each other the truth. I tell him these things often."

She simply glared at him, not saying anything further. Lance took a step forward with a big grin on his face, "So you two do know each other?"

"Why are you here anyway Red?" Gary asked, ignoring Lance completely and attempting to play a bluff, "Don't your moron sisters usually represent the Gym at this ball? I have vague memories of them here last year making utter fools of themselves in front of the scientific crowd."

Her eyes narrowed once more, "Normally they do," she conceded warily, "But as of last year my sisters are no longer affiliated with the League."

"Finally get around to implementing a benchmark for intelligence in the League did you Lance?" Gary asked flippantly as he turned to face the ignored Champion, "The three elder Waterflowers didn't meet the standard?"

Lance raised an eyebrow, "Daisy, Violet and Lily left the Cerulean Gym to Misty when they left to pursue other interests," he explained.

Gary let out a bark of laughter, "Other interests? Like what, finding the best hairdresser in Kanto?"

"Not that it's any of your business, they tour worldwide with their water ballets," Misty ground out through gritted teeth.

Gary grinned, "Fascinating, I'm sure. Though I'm curious; you agree your sisters are idiots? No Waterflower solidarity?"

In spite of herself, Misty snorted derisively, "There's not a whole lot to stand up for on that front and the whole world knows it."

"They were rather remarkable in a grating sort of way," Lance observed as he stared out the glass doors at the night sky, "Believe it or not Misty, your sisters are missed. Many of the trainers who passed through Cerulean were thoroughly entertained by them. Some interesting rumours popped up about them more than once."

Misty groaned, "Don't remind me. I've lost count of the amount of teenage boys I've battled this past year thinking I would take sex in exchange for a badge. How that arrangement was meant to benefit me I'll never know."

"Was any of that actually true?" Gary asked, curious.

"Pretty much every male challenger aged fourteen and over mentioned it. '_My big brother said you would_,' that sort of thing, but I don't think my sisters ever actually did it, granted though I never asked."

"Did you ever report those kids?" Lance asked, "You could have had their permits revoked for a year."

"No, I just kicked their asses," she gave an evil little smile and moved to leave, "If you gentlemen," she gave Gary a pointed look as though she believed the term to be a bit of a stretch for him, "will excuse me," she left the sentence hanging as she turned and moved through the crowd and out the doors, sitting herself down on a bench outside, leaving Lance and Gary to stare at her retreating back.

"You two seem… friendly," Lance remarked with a smirk as soon as Misty was out of earshot.

"As friendly as two people who haven't seen or spoken to each other in nearly ten years can be." Gary said lightly. "Though I can't say we ever really got along then."

Lance chuckled to himself, "It looks like you get along just fine now."

Gary's eyes narrowed, "Something on your mind, champ?"

"If that wasn't a two-sided flirt-fest I don't know what is!"

"A 'two-sided flirt-fest' Lance? What are you, twelve?"

"Oh come on!" he cried with a none too subtle elbow to the ribs, "You can't deny she's pretty!"

Gary's eyes narrowed and an odd clenching feeling settled in his stomach, "She's beautiful," he ground out in a tone more defensive than he intended.

"And you're the same age as her…" Lance continued in a hinting tone.

Gary stared at the Champion incredulously, "Lance, did you seriously just bring Misty over to play matchmaker?"

"Anything to make sure you're not drooling over her at every ball, every dinner, and every goddamned tournament for the foreseeable future! It's like you don't even bother trying to hide it, and it's a true wonder she hasn't noticed! I think, and a lot of people agree with me, that you should pull your head out of your arse and just ask the girl out!"

His eyes widened and he took a defensive stance, "I don't… _drool_."

Lance laughed and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, leading him towards the balcony where Misty was sitting. "Yeah mate, you do. Every event for the past three years you watch her like she's about to disappear. It's not like you're low on confidence, I don't know why you never approached her."

"I didn't know who she was," Gary muttered indignantly, dropping the act against his better judgment.

"Really?" Lance replied in mock wonder as he continued to steer Gary closer to the doors. "So tonight was the first time you've heard someone speak her name, and all the pieces came together?"

"Like you said, all I've ever done is watch."

"I suppose it's sort of understandable," Lance mused distractedly, "she never sat with her sisters at any of those events so it's not like you could have put two and two together by association, and she would have grown up considerably since the last time you saw and spoke to her properly. I guess I can't in good conscience call you an idiot then." They came to a stop in front of the doors leading to where Misty was sitting, looking up at the stars. Lance took two more champagne flutes from a tray and thrust them into Gary's unsuspecting hands. "Good luck," he said with a wink before he pushed Gary out the doors and closed them behind him.

Misty had been watching the two men curiously from the moment Lance began to shove Gary through the crowd. She took a moment to truly observe Gary, away from their petty arguments and without the shadow of Ash and their rivalry. There was no denying Gary was an extraordinarily good looking man; tall, broad shouldered, thick mahogany hair styled in careless spikes as though he'd just rolled out of bed that way, a slim muscular build and the most entrancing pair of deep green eyes she had ever seen on another man.

Perhaps it was a little insulting that her first thoughts were simply 'extraordinarily good looking'. On further inspection the words didn't seem to do him any justice at all.

"If you're not careful your face will freeze like that. The only way that could ever look appropriate is if I'm forever in your line of sight and I can't guarantee that's going to work."

If only he had the personality to match.

Misty was mortified and the deep blush that set on her face let him know; she had been staring at him, open-mouthed and wide-eyed, quite unashamedly. She had no comeback at all for that one.

Gary on the other hand was thrilled. This was exactly what he'd spent the past three years doing to her, though he hoped he was never so obvious about it. He could now die happy in the knowledge that he had the same effect on her. Taking pity on her inability to form a coherent sentence, and perhaps wanting to draw her discomfort out a little, he continued, "Don't worry about it Red, you're not the first and you certainly won't be the last," he winked and passed her the glass of champagne.

Her fingers brushed against his as she took the delicate glass from him. She had to suppress a mildly pleasurable shiver at the sensation of his rough, yet still oddly soft, fingers on hers. "Any man looks good in a full tuxedo Oak," she replied lightly, trying to sound uninterested and offhand, "You're not any better or worse looking than any other man here tonight."

He clutched a hand to his chest and groaned in mock pain, "You wound me so with your vicious words."

She grinned, "You're out here, alone, with me; get used to it."

There was a moment of oddly comfortable silence that neither could explain as they both lowered themselves back to the bench, a foot of distance separating them, and stared at the stars.

"What have you been up to these past few years Oak?" Misty asked suddenly, pivoting to face him. "According to Ash you all but disappeared off the face of the earth."

"Well," he let out a breath as he thought through his answer, "I gave up being a trainer at fifteen to work at the Sayda Island lab. Did that for a couple of years, came back here and took a job in Gramps' lab, been doing that ever since."

"What sort of work do you do?"

"I've been helping out with some research Gramps is doing on new evolution stones, but right now as Lance said I'm doing some work with the Elite Four and their Pokemon before the next tournament."

"Do you ever regret giving up being a trainer?"

"Never," he shook his head, "My heart was never really in it. What about you?"

"Travelled with Ash, then I took up the Gym Leader post," she replied with a laugh. "Not terribly varied I guess."

Gary shrugged, "Doesn't matter if you enjoy it. You do, don't you?"

"It has its moments, I suppose," she said with a smile. "Do you enjoy yourself?"

"It has its moments," he repeated with a smirk.

A cold breeze blew around them, whipping their hair in every direction and causing their skin to erupt in goosebumps. As Misty began to rub her exposed arms Gary shed his outer jacket and set it over her shoulders.

"Have dinner with me," Gary said suddenly.

She gave a short laugh and tugged the jacket further around her, subconsciously sniffing the fabric. "Right now? Why would I do that?"

"Because no matter how much they try to make you think otherwise, these stupid League balls serve crappy food, are damn cold, and aren't any sort of fun at all," he grinned down at her.

"And you are?" she challenged, shocking herself when she realised she was flirting, quite openly too, with Gary Oak, of all people.

"I've been told so once or twice," he answered coyly, leading her back inside the ballroom and towards the door. "Besides, I've rather enjoyed your company tonight, shitty setting and the fact that we argued for most of it notwithstanding, I'd like to see where it goes."

"It doesn't sound much like a dinner invitation anymore," she commented absently.

He smirked over the top of his champagne flute before taking hers and setting them down. "Take it as you like it, but for the time being it's just dinner."

"And afterwards?"

"We'll just have to wait and see."

"What exactly do you want here Gary?"

"Dinner with you for now, anything that comes later is a bonus."

"But you want a later?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, "I guess that depends on the dinner," he smirked again.

"Our friends won't like it," she commented thoughtfully.

Gary waved his hand dismissively. "They can all sod off for all I care."

"You hate my sisters."

"I never said that. Besides, I'm not inviting them to dinner, I'm inviting you."

"We'd fight all the time."

He leaned over to whisper in her ear. "But making up would be _glorious_."

She raised an eyebrow, "Easy there Oak, we're only talking dinner."

"For the moment, anyway," he winked.

She sighed, "Has anyone ever told you that you're incredibly arrogant?"

"Almost daily."

She hesitated, "I don't know, Gary."

"Come on Red, live a little! You have nothing to lose."

"And what do I have to gain?"

"A great many things," he replied with another smirk. "Look, if it gets too weird for you, you can leave, no hard feelings, no questions asked."

"I can't believe I'm about to agree to this…" she muttered under her breath.

"Agree to what, Red?" he prompted playfully.

"Oh, fine! I'll go to dinner with you! But that's it! No funny business!"

"Of course not! I'll be a perfect gentleman," he replied, a broad grin on his face she hated to admit gave her the sensation of a flock of Butterfree fluttering up a storm in her stomach, though it was nothing compared to the sensation she felt when he took her hand and led her out of the ballroom and into the night.

**-XXX-**

**FIVE AND A HALF YEARS AGO**

A soft light filtered through the curtains, falling onto the bed and illuminating everything in the room with a warm, golden glow.

Fingers dancing lightly up and down her arm brought Misty forth from her deep sleep. She smiled sleepily as the warm body spooning her from behind pulled her even closer, peppering kisses over her exposed neck and shoulder.

"Happy six months, one week and four days anniversary Red," he whispered in her ear, tracing his tongue lightly across the outer shell as his hands moved lower to draw patterns on her side, pausing as he reached the gentle curve of her hip to make lazy circles with his thumb against the skin.

Misty giggled and sighed happily, "Gary, what have I told you about celebrating obscure anniversaries?"

"I never let you get to the point where you can tell me anything Red, and you know it," he replied as his lips continued their ministrations on her neck, teeth lightly grazing her pulse. "I know you have fond memories of our three months, three weeks and two days anniversary."

Indeed she did. She flushed with the memory of the first time she and Gary had been intimate, a wet heat pooling at her core as she thought of it.

His hands began smoothing up and down her sides to remove her singlet, tickling her bare stomach before coming up to rest on her breasts, fingers lightly pinching her rosy nipples into hardened peaks and massaging the soft flesh tenderly. He always surprised her with how delicately he conducted himself during moments like these.

She could feel him adjusting himself behind her and his hard length pressing into her lower back as his hands fell again to the waistband of her pajama shorts, sliding a thumb under the elastic and pulling them down the length of her legs, his fingers brushing against her skin almost reverently.

Without preamble he took her outer leg and lifted it to drape over his hip and slowly eased himself inside her from behind, both moaning at the sensation of being joined in such a way as his lips fell to her neck once more, trailing a path he followed with his lips, tongue and teeth.

No words passed between them; the only sounds were of their gasps and sighs and moans echoing around the room. He kept his thrusts slow and deliberate, intending to drag their sleepy morning coupling out as long as he possibly could to bring them to their most explosive heights.

Encouragements were whispered frantically between them as they reached euphoric completion together, their eyes closed in bliss as they savoured the feeling of being connected in the most intimate way, Gary mouthing the words he hadn't yet mustered the courage to say against her neck through ragged breaths as he slowly pulled out of her.

He held her close as their breathing returned to normal, both sated for the time being, happy to just lie there for the rest of the day tangled in each others' limbs in a virtually perpetual state of pleasure. Rolling over she claimed his lips slowly and languidly in the first real kiss of the morning, both sighing at the contact and thinking the exact same thing.

_This is perfection._

**-XXX-**

**FIVE YEARS AGO**

"Come on Gary, Delia asked you personally to be there!"

"So bloody what if Ash is coming back today?' Gary cried stubbornly as he tried to eat his breakfast, "The guy gets his Master title and suddenly I'm at his mothers' beck and call? If that's not undeserved entitlement at its highest degree on both their parts then I don't know what is!"

"It's a surprise party," Misty deadpanned. "Ash doesn't even know it's being thrown."

"Then I'm sure Ash won't miss me when I don't show up!"

"Oak, you should know me well enough by now to know that I'm not above withholding sex from you to get what I want," she said warningly.

Gary sighed and glared at her, tossing his spoon to the table. "You are positively evil woman!"

"And yet you remain," she retorted, dropping a kiss to the top of his head as she left the room.

After much discussion regarding the need of a party and further debate over whether or not Ash actually deserved his many accolades, Misty finally roped a reluctant Gary into attending Ash's welcome home party later that evening. Though Gary would never admit it for fear of further retaliation from his surprisingly crafty girlfriend, he didn't have a good feeling about tonight. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen.

When it was time, they set off from the Oak Mansion, where Misty was these days spending quite a bit of her time, to the Ketchum home, already full to the brim with guests eagerly awaiting the man of the moment. As Misty left Gary's side to mingle with other friends and acquaintances, he stood back and simply watched her. As always, she looked beautiful; absolutely in her element surrounded by people she loved and with a glowing smile on her face. In that moment, Gary allowed his mind to wander to places he had never before dared to think about.

It was another hour before the guest of honour arrived. At the signal given by Ash's mother, everyone either ducked behind chairs, moved to adjacent rooms, or concealed themselves behind other household items. Only Gary and Misty moved to hide in a small wardrobe filled with linens down along the hallway.

Both Gary and Misty would admit there was a great deal of hesitance on both their parts to burst forth from the wardrobe when they were pressed so closely together, their minds obviously on things other than celebrating Ash's arrival. They heard the collective scream of 'SURPRISE!' from the guests, and a high pitched yelp that could only have been from Ash. Both drew away from the other with a disappointed sigh, pushing open the wardrobe door and all but falling through.

Gary chuckled quietly as he helped her up and ushered her back to the living room. "Want something to drink?"

She shook her head, "Maybe later," she replied quietly as Gary pressed a kiss to her forehead and smiled before walking away.

Misty hadn't seen Ash since in a little over a year and hated to admit that she actually felt a little nervous to see him again, which she of course knew was beyond ludicrous. Ash was her best friend! Had been since they were both ten years old. With only a few notable exceptions, Misty might even say she and Ash knew each other better than anyone.

As she came into the living room and into Ash's sight, everything seemed to stand still. Ash caught her eyes and didn't let go. Not knowing any better, she might even say the moment was almost romantic.

How long they spent staring at each other across the room she would never know. She couldn't help but feel transfixed as her mind went blank, and she couldn't say for sure exactly what she was thinking when she allowed Ash to walk determinedly up to her, seize her in a tight hug only to pull away moments later, a twinkle in his eye, to drop a gentle yet passionate kiss on her lips.

Gary on the other hand was in the kitchen, lamenting the utter lack of alcohol in the Ketchum household. Sighing, he took a cola, muttering to no one in particular that no one drank bloody cola at parties anymore.

He moved to leave, only to run head on into Brock who was making his way to the kitchen.

"If you're after something to dull the pain that comes with being here, you're going to be disappointed." Gary told him blankly.

Brock laughed, "It can't be that bad."

"I'm at a Ketchum homecoming party drinking warm cola!" he exclaimed as he doubled back to the kitchen to get Brock his drink. "It can so be that bad."

He took a sip and grimaced, "Maybe you're right."

With a matching look of disdain Gary raised his can, "To the man of the hour then."

"Best go greet him then," Brock said cheerfully, ambling out of the kitchen with Gary following shortly behind him.

Brock didn't know what had happened when he felt Gary's hand grasp his shoulder in a death grip. He could hear Gary's breathing becoming shallow and erratic, feel his knees buckle and if it were possible he might even think he _heard_ Gary pale. Brock followed Gary's line of sight, feeling the air leave his own lungs as he watched Ash pull away from Misty with an incredibly happy smile on his face. Misty simply looked shaken but made no effort to pull away from his embrace herself.

Gary was frozen. There was no way he could have moved even if he wanted to, and God, did he ever want to. After making a few shaky attempts to walk, he stopped again as Ash, happier than Gary had ever seen him, took Misty by the hand and led her down a hall, presumably to his bedroom.

"Shit," Brock breathed, chancing a glance over to Gary who was standing to his side, still having not moved or made any effort to talk.

For the first time Gary thought it probably would have been a good idea for Misty and himself to tell others they were seeing each other; that way he wouldn't have to stomach the applause and cheers around him as Ash led her away. Before he could try to move again, Brock, who he noted looked as shocked as he felt, seized him by the shoulders and took him out the back door, leading him wordlessly back to the Oak Mansion, pouring him a proper drink as the anger, resentment and utter contempt for Ash Ketchum erupted inside him.

**-XXX-**

**FOUR AND A HALF YEARS AGO**

"You can't do this again Gary!"

"Why the fuck not?"

She was visibly flustered as she thought out her words, "For obvious reasons Gary! I don't know why-"

"No, I don't know why either. Why don't you explain it to me? Tell me how exactly I got from being your boyfriend to being kicked to the curb when Ash came back into the picture because, for the life of me Red, I can't work out how that happened!"

Misty leaned forward, cradling her head in her hands. "I don't know," she whispered.

They met in a park in the middle of Pallet Town. It was a beautiful, sunny spring day, not a cloud in sight, the sweet songs of the birds in the trees floated through the air, the flowers lining the paths in full, glorious bloom. They sat at either side of a park bench in front of a crystal blue stream, neither willing to look at the other for fear of what they might see in the others' eyes.

"Can you at least tell me why?" he asked after a tense silence, sounding tired. "And for the love of God, don't hold out on me."

Misty chewed her lip viciously, drawing blood as she thought through her answer despite not really knowing the answer at all; why did she up and leave Gary anyway? Had Ash really been that persuasive? Did her feelings for Gary count for nothing when stacked alongside her friendship with Ash? She must have lost track of time, Gary all but exploding beside her.

"Nothing to say? Really? Well it's not fucking good enough!" he yelled, paying absolutely no mind to the passersby walking the paths around them. "Before I drive myself completely and utterly insane Red, please give me something to work with."

"It had nothing to do with you!" tears starting flowing down her face in hot, salty rivulets, "Believe me when I say that none of this happened because I was upset or anything like that. I was truly happy with you."

"Then why?" he yelled again, "If you were so fucking happy with me then why?"

"Because he loves me, alright?" she all but screamed, standing up to pace the length of the bench they were occupying. "Because I've never been able to deny him anything," she was utterly ashamed of herself but Gary couldn't bring himself to care.

"You went to him because you felt guilty?" he asked incredulously, "Ask Ketchum made you feel lousy so you ditched me for him? What sort of backwards, upside-down world are we living in where you, Misty Waterflower, can't make a decision for yourself?"

"I can make my own decisions, thank you very much," Misty retorted, very much incensed.

"No you bloody well can't! If you were half as happy as you say you were you would have damn well fought harder!"

"I don't know how to explain it Gary, I can't work out in my head how this all happened."

"Answer me this; do you love Ash?"

Well, yes. In short, she did. Ash was her first friend, her very best friend. Of course she loved him. To the ends of the earth and back, but she would be lying to herself if she said she felt anything even remotely romantic towards him.

Gary seemed to take her contemplative silence as her being unwilling to admit the truth, though exactly what the truth was remained a mystery.

"He loves me," she whispered in response.

Gary snorted and rolled his eyes, "Well guess what? So do I," and with that, he took her by the shoulders and crushed his lips to hers.

Never had a kiss between them been more wet, desperate or passionate, more full of messages neither could convey in words. He kissed her with all the desperation of a man in the desert, drinking from her as though she were his only lifeline, the only thing tethering him to this world. He kissed her knowing this was his last ditch effort; if it didn't work now, it never would.

"Please Gary," she pleaded against his lips as they parted, "You've got to stay away! We can't do this anymore, and I really don't think I can keep asking when I know it's breaking your heart!"

"One good reason Red," he challenged, "If you can look me in the eye and give me one good reason why I shouldn't keep fighting for you, then I'll leave."

"Ash asked me to marry him and I said yes; I'm engaged," she whispered almost painfully, her eyes falling shut.

The silence that followed was tense, painful and uncomfortable, "Fine," he replied in a tone surprisingly void of emotion, standing up and pushing away from the bench forcefully. "I'll stay away, but know that it's done now. I won't do this again; I'll never speak of it again and neither will you. As far as I'm concerned now, our year together never fucking happened."

**-XXX-**

**THE FOLLOWING MONTH**

"Come on Gary, this isn't you and you know it."

"Well Brock, I guess it's me now. Anyway, how exactly should I be acting? I was very suddenly ditched by the girl I am still in love with for a guy she denied having any romantic feelings for after being with her for a year. What would be appropriate in this situation?"

Brock took several deep breaths in and out. As bad as he felt for Gary, the woefully defeated attitude he seemed to have adopted was starting to wear thin. "Have you even spoken to her since?"

"Yep," he replied mechanically, not looking up from the table. "Saw her last month."

"And it took you this long to tell me?" Brock exclaimed impatiently, "What happened?"

"What do you think happened?" Gary replied exasperatedly, "I tried to get her to explain, she wouldn't, I kissed her, I made my last ditch effort and she shot me down."

"Did she say anything about why everything happened the way it did?"

"She said she didn't know, something about Ash loving her. She probably just didn't want to hurt my feelings."

"Hurt your feelings?" Brock repeated, "We're talking about the same girl, right? If Misty felt one way or the other she would tell you, tact be damned."

"Then I guess she's not the same girl anymore."

"Gary," Brock started in a strained voice, "Are you going to try at all? It was one meeting, you shouldn't get discouraged."

"She's marrying him Brock," he said bluntly.

Brock's brain wasn't quite keeping up. "…what?"

Gary sighed, "He proposed and she said yes."

"Well... fuck."

"I know."

"Look, it's not over until Ash slips the wedding ring on her finger. You still have a chance! Don't you love her at all?"

"I do love her Brock," he said with a small, sad smile, "Enough to let her be happy with Ash if that's what she wants."

Brock dragged a hand down his face, rubbing the coarse hair adorning his chin. "Good god, she has you whipped," he snickered, "Look, I doubt very much that it's what she wants. Misty is too stubborn a girl to suddenly change her mind about something like this and you know it. There has to be more going on. What was she like when you were talking to her?"

"She seemed…" he trailed off. In the heat of the moment he admittedly hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to how she seemed, and in the past month he liked to think he'd done a fairly successful job of burying it down so far he'd never have to deal with it again. "She was crying."

"She was crying?" Brock asked, surprised. "That doesn't fit with your 'she's very happy with Ash' story."

"Then why would she go Brock? I was happy, she was happy, or so I thought. I just…" he trailed off, wringing his hair in his fists, "I really thought I was ready to marry her Brock! And now she's gone and I still have no idea why!"

If he didn't already know that Gary would throw him off if he so much as attempted it, Brock would have given the man a hug. He knew there had to be two sides to the story but it seemed like Misty really had no idea what her side was. Even from the very beginning of their relationship, if one could even call it that, Brock knew it was never going to be an easy run for them; their very natures made them volatile, and while they were so similar on so many levels, on others they were so diametrically opposed. But Brock also knew that when it came right down to it, they were oddly perfect for each other, it just seemed Misty was taking a lot longer than Gary to realise it.

"… I can't keep doing this to myself," Gary continued almost mournfully, "There's no point anymore."

"So… what will you do now then?"

"Leaf moved back to town a couple of weeks ago," Gary started hesitantly.

"Leaf?" Brock repeated, confused. "Not the Leaf you and Ash were friends with as kids?"

"The same, yes."

"And then what?" he asked, incredulity evident in his tone.

"She's apparently had a bit of a thing for me-"

"-Fucking hell Gary," Brock breathed, "You'd really take off with Leaf? Why? To spite Misty? Because you can't be alone? To satisfy that overblown ego of yours? Which one is it?"

"Right now, it's a little bit of all of those."

Brock let out a deep breath, running a hand through his spikes, "Is there anything I can say to make you change your mind?"

He shook his head, "Misty told me to stay away and move on; if that's what she wants, then that's what I'll do."

"I don't suppose I have to tell you I think you're making a mistake?"

Gary rose from his place at the table as Brock did the same, "You've made your feelings in the subject quite clear."

Brock stared at him, sighed, and extended a hand, "I really hope you know what you're doing. As much as you deny it, you're toying with two hearts here, both of you are most likely going to get hurt in the long run."

"Couldn't you have said something comforting, just once?" Gary joked weakly as he clasped Brock's hand.

"Hell no. You'll have me breathing down your neck until you pull your head out of your arse."

"Fantastic," he muttered sarcastically.

"I have to go Gary, I told Suzie I'd be back ages ago, and it's a bit of a trip back to Pewter." Both men stood and moved to the doorway. "Promise me you'll at least try Gary," Brock implored the younger man, "If you do go to Leaf it's not fair on you or her. And I've known Misty for years, I don't believe she's as over you as she'd have you believe."

"I'll keep it in mind," he replied mildly.

No more words were spoken between the two as Brock gave a quick wave and disappeared out the door and back to his car. Gary turned and left the room, ascending the staircase to his bedroom on the upper level of the Oak Mansion.

Neither Brock nor Gary noticed the raven haired man hidden in the shadows fall to his knees.

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**AN: **Oh sweet Geezus, the angst!

Now, I felt the 'five years ago' part didn't need a whole lot of dialogue, so I tried to focus more on what was happening. I didn't intend for it to be so short but it worked better that way.

Hopefully that paints the picture much more clearly now and we can soldier on! If it looks like I've overlooked something let me know and I'll squeeze it in somewhere.

Good lord, my puppy! He is a little terror! Adorable and everything but DAMN! The little dude likes to chew!

Leave a review! I could use a buzz! When you do, could you please let me know if you'd like more stuff detailing the relationship between Ash and Leaf? I do have some ideas for the two of them but since this is an EgoShipping story I don't know how well it would be received. And again, reviewers will get a sneak peek at the next chapter.


	4. Motivation

Hello again! Sorry this chapter is so short, I'm going to be away from my computer until next Monday so I had to kinda rush this one finished.

In 'STSS' the distance between towns was pretty far, but for this story we're going to assume they aren't that far apart; if one were dedicated (or inebriated) enough one might be able to walk which is why Gary can find himself in Pallet Town from Viridian City after leaving Leaf.

So that there's absolutely no confusion, this chapter follows on after the events of chapter two.

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Pokemon, and I probably can't even claim ownership of the plot. Is anything original anymore? Does anyone really own anything? Do I even exist? Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!

'To the Happy Couple'

Chapter 4: 'Motivation'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

Brock was having a lovely morning.

He had a rare week to himself while Suzie was out of town visiting friends, so he closed up the breeding centre for the day, dragged a table and chair outside with his favourite breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon and proceeded to soak up the warm morning sunlight, bringing a copy of his favourite book to read when he was done.

Complete and utter bliss at its finest.

Brock hadn't even noticed that he had fallen asleep until he became gradually aware of a distant yet insistent tapping at his front door. He winced against the now blindingly bright sunlight as he opened his eyes and stretched languidly, making no real effort to get to the door any quicker until the tapping started coming louder and faster.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" he yelled as he moved closer, the tapping not diminishing in the slightest.

He trained his expression to one of annoyance, fully prepared to tear whoever was at his door a new one for disrupting his absolutely perfect day. Yanking open the door, his scowl fell as he took in the crying face of one of his oldest friends.

"Misty?" he said carefully, "Are you alright?"

"Have you heard?" she asked through sniffles.

"Heard what?" Brock asked, confused.

"About Ash and Leaf," she murmured as she rubbed her eyes. The look on her face said it all; there was no need for her to explain herself further.

Brock stifled a groan. He hated to admit, but he'd seen something like this coming a mile off. The perils of being friends with four so incredibly confused people, though he had always thought (and hoped for both their sakes) it would be Gary and Misty to break first, the pairing up of Ash and Leaf almost too ludicrous to contemplate, though apparently not entirely out of the question. He stood to the side and offered what he hoped was a comforting smile, motioning for Misty to come in as he placed a friendly hand on her back to guide her to the kitchen. "Sit down," he said, pushing her gently towards a stool at the kitchen counter, "I'll make you some tea."

She only sniffed in response, reaching across the bench to pluck a tissue from a nearby box and proceeding to blow her nose loudly and without shame.

With a raised eyebrow and an indulgent smile Brock slid a cup over to her, watching as she struggled between sipping her tea and only being able to breathe through her mouth before giving up and setting the cup back down with a huff. He fought back the urge to chuckle; she was so like a little girl at the moment.

He took a seat beside her and turned to look at her properly, "Talk."

Misty looked around wildly before speaking, "Suzie isn't around, is she?" she asked suspiciously.

"She's gone," he replied simply, "She won't be back for a week."

Her shoulders visibly relaxed. Suzie was about as far removed from the situation as it was possible to be, however it hadn't stopped her before from eyeing Misty with disappointment and judgment whenever they met.

"Why don't you just tell me what happened Misty?" Brock cut into her thoughts, "From the beginning."

She took a deep breath and began to relay to Brock the whole story in unflinching, honest detail. Towards the end of her tale his jaw had dropped; two and a half years Ash and Leaf had been keeping this up? That was… probably not all that shocking; he'd only started giving serious consideration to this rather warped foursome over the past few months, there were bound to be things he had missed. His jaw dropped again at the mention of Leaf's pregnancy, not wanting to believe that Ash could be so stupid as to get another girl pregnant while he was still with Misty, no matter what shape their relationship was in. But there was something that still didn't quite add up…

"Misty, how do you know all this?" he asked, cutting in as she was explaining the little reconciliation she and Ash had come to. "I doubt very much Ash would have filled you in on all the little details of what was happening that morning."

She blushed imperceptibly and muttered one word under her breath; "Gary."

He let out a deep breath in a whoosh, "What?"

She sighed and rolled her shoulders until the bones clicked back into place. "Gary told me everything. He was the one that found them together."

"So you met, and spoke, to Gary," Brock said slowly, trying to piece everything together. "And Gary told you everything, voluntarily?"

From what Brock had seen Gary had spent the past few years walking a very tight line. There had been a staunch refusal to speak to, or even about Misty since Leaf had come into the picture again, which had proven difficult when Leaf had insisted (to which Gary couldn't find the words to refuse for reasons he didn't understand) on double dates with Ash and Misty, and even triple dates involving himself and Suzie. On the few occasions Brock had joined them, it had been almost hard to watch; Gary would retreat into himself, looking anywhere but where Ash and Misty were sitting, whereas Misty simply sat there with a faraway, almost wistful expression marring her features.

There had been an almost stubborn need to prove that he could in fact move on when Misty had left him; that he could do without her, that her being with Ash didn't bother him in the slightest. That tended to extend to also refusing to acknowledge her existence unless he was left with no other choice but to do so. There had been many conversations like the one Brock and Gary had shared in the wake of the incident that progressively became less and less productive as time went on, often disintegrating to talks about Pokémon breeding and sports, not even acknowledging the issue at hand.

So it stood to reason that Gary wouldn't have called Misty unless he had a reason to do so, and yesterday he'd certainly found a very good one. But if things were so progressed with Ash and Leaf by this point there was no way they could have hidden it any longer, Misty would have found out soon enough. So it begged the question; why did Gary call Misty, take her somewhere quiet and secluded, and tell her all the sordid details of what had transpired between their respective partners? What did he feel he had to gain?

"Well… yes," she replied with a raised eyebrow, "Why wouldn't he? We're in the same boat."

"How did he seem?"

She shrugged, "As well as can be expected given what he was telling me."

"Did he talk at all about… before?"

"A little," she said carefully, "But he was sort of drunk."

"Drunk words are sober thoughts Misty," Brock said with a wry smile, "What did he say?"

She huffed, muttering something under her breath about about how conversations kept being switched on her. "He asked whether or not I thought about how things might have gone had everything not happened like it did," she said quickly.

Brock stared at her as though he was trying to see through her, "Do you?"

She began to chew on her bottom lip until it was red and swollen, "I try very hard not to."

"But you do?" Brock prodded encouragingly.

Misty sighed and took another sip of tea, "All the time."

"Do you…" he trailed off with an apprehensive look on his face, "Do you regret what happened?"

"Yes and no," she replied cryptically.

Brock merely stared at her expectantly as he took another sip of his own tea. "And what does that mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders, looking rather lost, "I can't really explain why it happened. I regret hurting Gary more than words can express, but the rest is sort of fuzzy and I don't really like thinking about it."

Feeling very much like he should be getting paid for his impromptu therapy session, he was that damn good at it after all, he reclined on his stool and nodded, "And why is that?"

"I honestly can't explain why I did what I did!" he should have been prepared for a fresh round of tears but still found himself surprised when they fell. "I've gone over and over it in my mind and I have no idea how or why it happened!"

"Misty," Brock began with a small smile, "To anyone who knows you as well as I do, it's actually perfectly understandable why you did what you did."

"Then please explain this to me Brock!" Misty begged, "Why would I leave Gary like that? I don't love Ash like that, so what in God's name would make me even consider being with him like that?"

"You can't say no to anything that would make Ash happy," he said wisely. At her confused expression he continued, "Think about it! You've seen that boy get hurt, fail, have the things he loves ripped away from him, hell, you've even seen him die! You would do anything to make him happy! Even sacrifice your own happiness for his without any thought for the consequences so long as Ash has what he needs."

"What does that make me Brock?" she whispered tearfully, "What do you call someone who can so carelessly disregard someone's feelings for the sake of someone else?"

"Someone who's maybe a little too selfless for their own good," he said kindly, taking her hand across the table and giving a gentle squeeze. "You aren't a bad person Misty!"

"That doesn't make it any better!" she cried, ripping her hand away to hold her teary face, "I didn't end up making Ash happy at all! I stood with him and wished for something else! In the end I left Gary for nothing!"

"Misty, the decision you made at the time… you thought it was for the best. You thought he would be happy and that was all you could see. You managed to convince yourself that you were in love with him, but I can't imagine it was that easy for you."

Her sobs began to subside. Some women could look attractive while they cried, but not Misty; as she pulled her hands away from her face she revealed red, puffy eyes, a running red nose and blotchy skin.

"Misty," Brock started hesitantly, "There's something I have to ask you, and I need you to answer truthfully. Can you do that for me?"

Wordlessly she nodded, taking another tissue from the box now situated under her folded hands.

He took a breath and looked her in the eye. "Did you love Gary then?"

She sighed, sounding defeated, "Does it even matter anymore?"

"It matters more than anything Misty, now be honest; do you love him?"

She hung her head and murmured her words almost unintelligibly, "I never stopped."

"Don't you think maybe you should do something to make yourself happy for a change?" he asked gently.

"Like what?" she asked incredulously, "Go back to Gary? Out of the question Brock; too much has changed."

"What exactly has changed for you then?"

Misty looked incredibly flustered, her arms gesticulating wildly, "Well, everything! Apart from yesterday, Gary hasn't wanted anything to do with me and me, well, I'm not even sure loving him is enough anymore."

Brock heaved a long-suffering sigh but committed himself to helping his two friends find each other again, "I think that's where you're wrong Misty."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Misty, I can't tell you what to do," he told her, taking her hand again, "All I can do is give you a nudge in the right direction and hope you find happiness for yourself. Things aren't as they seem, but you'll need to talk to Gary about that."

"What are you saying Brock? That Gary-"

"I can't tell you," he cut in firmly, "It would be unfair to him. But I am telling you to talk to him. You might find yourself surprised."

Her shoulders visibly relaxed and her face softened considerably. "What do I do in the meantime?"

"About Ash and Leaf, you mean?" she nodded for confirmation, "There isn't a whole lot you can do. You said you and Ash made peace, do you want to talk to Leaf?"

Misty shook her head in an almost violent manner, "She, uh, she doesn't know… about me and Gary…"

"So?" Brock asked, confused.

"Ash seemed to think Leaf came to him because Gary was in love with someone else, _me _apparently_,_ but she didn't know who it was," she muttered, red faced.

"Ah," said Brock in complete understanding, "Well then, I guess you just support Ash if that's what you want to do. How you do that is up to you."

She wiped the remaining tears from her face and launched herself at Brock, holding him around the middle tightly. "You're such a good friend Brock!" she exclaimed passionately.

He chuckled lightly, "I do what I can."

"Why didn't you ever tell me you spoke to Gary right after?" she mumbled into his chest; she didn't need to specify which conversation.

"It wasn't my place to tell," he told her gently, "He just wanted someone to talk to who would listen to him rant for a while."

"How was he?"

"Honestly Misty? Not great, but that's probably another thing you should take up with him."'

"Does he hate me?"

"I don't think he could ever hate you, no matter how much he'd like to."

"This whole thing is such a mess," she whispered, "Can it be fixed?"

"Sure it can," he said, smiling down at her, "You'll just have to want to fix it."

She sniffed, releasing him from their hug, "I really do."

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"Funnily enough," she began with a weak laugh, "I actually have to talk to Gary. I promised I'd tell him how things with Ash went."

Brock eyed her apprehensively, "I don't know if you should-"

"I know, it's too soon," she interjected, "I have to sort out my own stuff before we go there. But I'd like to know how he went with Leaf too."

Brock simply nodded and rose from the chair, taking their now empty tea cups back to the sink, running warm water over them. "You know, Suzie won't be here for the week. We should do something fun, take your mind off everything."

"What do you have in mind?" Misty asked as she came up beside him.

"I don't know, something stupid, like bowling or laser-tag. Or we could just go to the movies, binge on chocolate and ice cream-"

The sound of Misty giggling broke his train of thought, "That does sound like fun."

"That settles it then!" he said triumphantly, "Tomorrow we'll do something fun, just you and me."

Misty's eyes shined happily as she threw her arms around Brock again, "You really are awesome, you know that?"

"I had some inkling," he replied with a smirk. "Think about it and let me know what you want to do."

"I have a couple of ideas," she said with a sly grin that turned into a genuine smile. "Thank you again Brock."

He shook his head. "You never have to thank me Misty; you're one of my best friends, I'd do anything for you."

"And that is why you're so awesome," she said, giving him another quick hug before moving to leave. "I have to go; Ash should be done moving out so I should go see what sort of mess he left me."

"And now you're on your own!" he retorted, following her towards the front door and opening it for her. "Don't worry about any of it Misty, everything will right itself in the end."

"I know," she replied sadly as she stepped over the threshold and out into the sunlight, "It'll be fine, I'm sure."

"I'm here to talk any time you like, don't forget that."

"I know," she said again. "Bye Brock, I'll talk to you later."

He offered a wave as she walked towards her car and stepped inside. Turning back into his house he shut the door and took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. Things were an absolute mess right now, and damn it all if Brock wasn't going to be in for a week of playing counselor to his group of grossly confused friends. He shook his head at the quickly dying prospect of a quiet week on his own.

_Fucking hell._

**-XXX-**

How far he walked, or for how long, Gary wasn't able to tell. All he knew for sure was that hours after leaving his house in a blind rage and walking aimlessly along the path through the dense Viridian Forest to sleepy little Pallet Town, he found himself on the same park bench he'd had that life-altering conversation with Misty all those years ago. He could almost hear echoes of the conversation that tore his heart in two.

_"Please Gary; you've got to stay away! We can't do this anymore, and I really don't think I can keep asking when I know it's breaking your heart!"_

_"Ash asked me to marry him and I said yes; I'm engaged."_

He groaned loudly into the empty darkness, feeling torn as to whether or not he should feel angry, guilty or elated. He wanted to be angry; there was no way he could ever feel anything less towards Ash now. In the past he may have found it within himself to look past Ash's transgressions for Misty's sake but not anymore. A case could also be made for guilty; clearly none of this would have happened if Gary hadn't given it a reason to happen. For what he inflicted on Misty yesterday, and the stress he had knowingly put Leaf under, he could only feel guilty. The guilt carried over to his elation also; there was no way Misty was going to stay with Ash now after everything. For the first time in five years, they were both free. Somewhere in the deepest recesses of his mind, Gary allowed himself to hope once more.

He watched the sun begin to rise between the crests of the mountains beyond Pallet Town. He didn't want to go home just yet, not wanting to disturb Leaf in case she was still there, so he stayed on the bench, watching in borderline reverence as the sun grew higher in the sky.

The sunrise in Pallet Town was to many an almost religious experience. It seemed brand new each time. For those watching it, it felt like renewal. Gary knew he needed that as he watched the sun climb higher and higher, something to wash away the past five years, and help him move forward. Or maybe back would be more appropriate…

He chuckled to himself; he had to admit that he had really only been a shell of himself these past few years. His time with Leaf, someone he went to mostly so he could just be with someone, coupled with what he could only call heartache and a slow burning resentment for Ash had turned him into a hollow version of himself. Well, now it was time for all of that to change.

Gary didn't want to be that man anymore.

He knew he really should be feeling worse. After all, yesterday had been a day of life changing revelations but in the face of decisions made, Gary decided not to be a petulant child. In fact he decided it was time to go back to the man he was. The man so full of cocky arrogance that it irritated everyone around him to the point that none of them wanted to work with him, leaving him in blissful silence; the man so intelligent he didn't have to spy on fairies dancing to make ends meet; the man that was buried so deep down that he was almost impossible to reach.

_Almost_.

The point he was trying to avoid however was that Gary desperately wanted to again be the man Misty fell in love with. That man was all of his best attributes magnified by a thousand, and it was who he was going to need to be if he wanted to have any sort of chance.

But did he want to take that chance again?

There was always going to be the question of whether or not Misty still felt the same, or indeed whether or not she ever felt that way at all. Her actions had given way to fleeting thoughts that she never actually felt anything for him quite like what he felt for her, and that she was simply using him as a means to an end. It was a depressing thought, but one Gary nonetheless had to dismiss; he knew with every inch of his being that Misty felt the same. It had been in her touch, in her words, in her smile, in her kiss, in the way she gazed at him with such unrestrained adoration when she arched into him as they made love.

Hell fucking yes he wanted to take the chance!

There was no doubt that she may have been genuinely confused. Gary knew better than most, having seen it firsthand when they were kids, Ash's remarkable ability to wrap people around his finger. When he chose to use it, Ash Ketchum was an incredibly charismatic individual; it explained why he had so damn many friends who were all so willing to follow him. He could draw you in at the drop of a hat, though Gary had never once been able to tell if it was on purpose or not. People stronger than Misty had fallen for it; even Gary had from time to time.

But even so, five years was a long time. Maybe even a little too long. Many things were different now. But then again, maybe this was the chance he _needed_ to take, not one to take to prove he could.

All his life Gary had been reckless, prone to letting his ego get in the way, his arrogance often blinding him to simple truths. Up until quite recently, he hadn't really had a reason to be reckless. Since the _incident__,_Gary had become rather safe in the way he went about things, not really feeling the need to take chances anymore; what chance was worth taking? Well, now there was one.

With a strange sense of resolve that had been oddly absent, Gary stood and felt the determination flow through his veins once more. He might not ever get Misty back, but at the very least he could look damn good while he tried.

For the first time in a long time, Gary felt a genuine smile grow on his lips. He was free! He finally had another chance, and fuck it all if he was going to waste it.

That conversation with Misty was going to have to wait a little longer…

**-XXX-**

Ash stood in front of the foreign looking house, his eyes darting between the street number embossed on the letterbox to the address written on the torn piece of paper clutched in his hand. Yes, this was definitely the right house…

With great trepidation he moved slowly towards the door. It wasn't as though he didn't want to do what he was about to do, it was that this was the first time he was free to do so. Today was the first time he could be with Leaf, openly and without reservation, without the idea of Misty or Gary finding out what they were doing haunting his mind, without his own certainty that what they were doing to their partners was wrong.

Ash had needed the previous night with Misty. It had been the perfect end to their imperfect story. She had always been his best friend and despite everything that had passed between them, she could never be anything less. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, a push in the right direction and the first steps to finding the things that would make him truly happy. He couldn't say for certain that it included Leaf, but it certainly included his unborn child.

He was painfully aware of everything around him; the leaves crunching noisily under his feet, the music playing from another house off in the distance, the breeze rushing past his ears, the weight of the ring he had bought that morning burning a hole in his pocket. Only when he stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes, trying to block the noises of the outside world, did he become aware of the shouts and the sound of glass breaking from within the house in front of him. Before Ash even realised he had put one foot in front of the other he was at the front door.

His memory of Leaf's parents was vague at best. He remembered her mother being a stern faced woman who never took too kindly to her only daughter taking up with a pair of rambunctious boys who got into more mischief than should be possible. Her father however was the classic overprotective dad, who again didn't take too kindly to his only daughter taking up with a pair of rambunctious boys. Ash groaned; he really should have expected coming here to go this way. Their daughter was unmarried and pregnant by a man who was not the man she had been with publicly for the past five years, of course they weren't going to take it well.

The urge to knock didn't even cross his mind. Without further thought he threw open the door and took long, powerful strides towards the noise, finding Leaf with her mother sitting at the kitchen table, both red faced and breathless, but silent and seemingly calm for the moment.

Two pairs of identical bright green eyes flickered in his direction, one set livid, the other relieved, and suddenly Ash felt extraordinarily uncomfortable. Without so much as a glance back at her mother Leaf leapt from the table and grabbed Ash by the hand, dragging him back outside again.

Leaf began to pace the length of the yard, taking deep breaths in and out to calm herself. After tense moments of otherwise silence, Ash cleared his throat to speak. "How did it go?"

"Ugh!" Leaf exclaimed, running a hand through the length of her hair, "My mother is so ridiculous! It doesn't help that she loved Gary, and now she thinks you stole into my room in the dead of night and seduced me! Factor in that I'm pregnant and you'd think I was the bloody Devil incarnate! And dad! Don't even get me started! If you'd been in there when I was telling him, you'd be dead Ash! He would have whipped out his gun and shot you, the whole overprotective dad cliché!"

Ash sighed and rolled his eyes, "And we've still got my mother to tell yet."

Leaf shook her head stubbornly, "Please Ash, not today. I can't do anymore."

He shuffled in place but nodded anyway, "Okay, we can do my mum another day."

Stepping forward, Leaf fell onto his chest, wrapping her arms securely around his torso. With almost no hesitation Ash lifted his arms to wrap around her slender waist, his fingers reaching around to graze her stomach, imagining the baby growing there.

"Where do we go now?" she mumbled into his chest.

"I kept my old apartment from before I lived with Misty," he replied thoughtfully, "It's in Pallet Town; we could go there?"

He felt her nod against him. "That sounds good."

Carefully pulling away Ash kept an arm around Leaf's waist, supporting her as they walked away from her parents' house. He noticed Leaf looking back towards the house, eyeing it sadly. "They'll come around, you know," he said encouragingly, "Before you'll know it they'll be out of their minds excited for a grandkid."

Leaf chuckled weakly by his side, "I hope you're right."

"If your mum is anything like mine, I know I'm right," he said with a wink.

Leaf sighed but managed a small smile, "I remember your mum, she was a lovely woman."

"And she still is. You have nothing to be afraid of with her," he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "Now, where do I take you now?"

Her lips quirked into another smile as she stepped onto the tips of her toes to press a gentle kiss to his lips, "Take me home Mr. Ketchum."

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**AN: **Another one down! Kind of a weak chapter, sorry! To those who want to see more of the friendship between Gary and Brock, I'll have something for you next chapter. I rather like the dynamic between them too, even if I am the one writing it!

I suddenly have a very shoddy 's' key (blaming the new puppy who likes to walk all over my keyboard) so I apologise for any missing esses!

There is a lovely guest reviewer who leaves me (funnily enough) guest reviews. I'm pretty sure it's the same person each time, review structure is always similar, so I'd like to say a big thank you to them since I can't send them a message.

Reviews are always appreciated *hint hint* so if you feel like it, leave me a few words! Seriously, any words you want! Again, previews of the next chapter for those who do :)


	5. Trepidation

Hello all! Sorry about the lateness of this chapter. I've just gotten over a nasty flu and while I did try to write, I was quite delirious with my fever as high as it was and could hardly know which way was up or down let alone concentrate for more than ten seconds on my keyboard, so writing was difficult and, to an outsider I'm sure, probably very funny to watch.

Anyway, here's another installment for you, with another solid chunk of Brock and Gary friendship. Putting it out there right now, I don't care how much anyone asks, I refuse to write those two as a slash pairing. Just no.

**DISCLAIMER: **You'd be a deluded tool if you truly believed any of this was mine.

'To the Happy Couple'

Chapter 5: 'Trepidation'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

As fond as Brock was of his friends, he was getting real fucking tired of playing therapist.

The need for Misty to seek him out he could understand; the poor girl was confused and hurting and desperately needed someone to talk to, someone to help her muddle through her problems to come out with a clear and definite solution at the end. Ash was slightly more perplexing with his phone call made a little over a week ago; according to him, he'd recognised what was happening between him and Misty almost since the very beginning, all he really sought now was approval for his newly public relationship with Leaf which Brock wasn't entirely sure he could give when he considered just how Ash went about things, but he gave his blessing nonetheless. Thankfully he and Leaf had never been overly close, so she had never come over seeking the wise and apparently gospel-like words that spewed forth from his mouth.

Gary, however, had been suspiciously absent. Not that Brock minded; he'd been sifting through Gary's brain for years now, he could happily never have to do it again. But two weeks had passed since the incredibly dramatic dissolving of his friends' relationships and in that time Gary was suddenly nowhere to be found. He hadn't been to work, he hadn't been back to his home in Viridian, his family hadn't heard from or seen him. It was very much as though Gary Oak didn't want to be found.

Brock liked to think he knew Gary quite well. Brock had seen the younger man during his dizziest highs and his most debilitating lows and everywhere in between. He knew Gary wasn't stupid, although this latest stunt was providing an incredible amount of evidence to the contrary, so Brock didn't find himself terribly worried about his friends' sudden absence. When Gary was ready to come back, he would; simple as that.

However, when Gary finally did come knocking, at nearly eleven at night no less, it was all Brock could do not to find the nearest wall and just smash his head against it.

He groaned as he opened the door. As much as he'd hoped he'd dodged a bullet, he knew Gary would come around at some point. What he did find surprising however was that Gary actually looked, well… _good_. For the first time in a very long time, he was smirking, he looked healthy, the confident swagger in his step was back, everything about him sung of the old Gary, the Gary many would slap out cold if they were presented with the opportunity. Whatever he'd been doing over the past few weeks had obviously done him a world of good.

Gary could have rolled up in a solid gold carriage pulled by prize-winning Rapidash wearing robes of the finest velvets; Brock still would have been pissed off.

"Gary," Brock ground out as he leaned on the door-frame, looking at the smirking face of his friend, "How can I help you?"

"Just here to chat Brock, that's all," he said smoothly, pushing past Brock and striding confidently into the house.

"Oh, by all means, do come in," Brock muttered as he pulled the door closed and followed Gary in, raising an eyebrow when he found him now sprawled across his sofa.

"Don't have anything to drink, do you?" Gary asked casually as he examined his fingernails.

"What? No, I… ugh!" Brock turned and moved to stand in front of Gary, his arms crossed over his chest. "What the hell is going on Oak?"

He flashed a smug grin, "I'm back, Brock."

"I can see that," Brock replied with a raised eyebrow, "You've been gone for two weeks."

"Yeah, well…" he ran a hand through his hair, "I needed some time to myself, talked to a few people. As stupid as it sounds, I needed to find myself again."

"So that's what this is?" Brock asked, gesturing up and down between them at the neatly trimmed hair, new clothes that, if Brock didn't know any better, looked like they had been made for him, and his general aura of good health. "This is you coming back? This is why no one has heard hide nor hair of you in the past two weeks? You know Misty was trying to get in contact with you, right?"

"I thought she might," Gary admitted sheepishly, "But I didn't want to see her again until I fixed a few things."

"All this needed fixing?" Brock gestured up and down again.

"Come on Brock!" Gary exclaimed as he started ticking everything off on his fingers, "You know as well as I do I needed fixing! Over the past couple of years I lost weight, my clothes started wearing me! My hair turned into a rats nest, albeit a reasonably well groomed one. I was sick more often than I ever had been before and plain and simple, I just wasn't happy. Something had to give."

"And what spurred this revelation?"

Gary stared at Brock blankly, "What the fuck do you think spurred it?"

Brock plonked down on the sofa beside him and rolled his eyes, "Sorry, stupid question. So what did you want to chat about?"

"I want her back Brock."

Brock snorted, "Of course you do."

"I'm being serious!"

"I know you are! It's just… are you so sure that's a good idea?"

"I haven't thought about much else these past two weeks Brock, I know it's a good idea; I've never been so happy as I was with her."

"And what about everything else?" Brock asked impatiently, "It takes longer than two weeks to get over your girlfriend cheating on you and getting pregnant as a result, especially when the third party in the equation has screwed you around before. And even if Misty were up for it, you know she'd definitely want some time to get over everything properly before jumping into another relationship with you."

"I have barely been in a relationship for the past two and a half years Brock!" Gary jumped to his feet and began to pace, "I might as well have lived with a bloody Metapod for all the 'relationship' I got out of living with Leaf; I am over it, have been for years," he said firmly.

Brock's head fell back in disbelief, "I don't know how else to convince you."

"Why don't you think I should? I want to be with Misty, I always have and now I can. Why is it such a bad idea to you?"

"Because as of right now it's a stupid bloody idea and I really don't think you've thought it all through!"

Gary's features hardened as he fixed Brock with an angry glare, "And just what do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like I mean!" he yelled exasperatedly, "All you're focusing on is the girl, you're paying no attention to what needs to be done before you should even start thinking about getting her back! You've only done half the work! God, this is so like you Gary; plummeting head first into a plan that will never work because you didn't think it through, simply assuming someone wants you just because it's you!"

"Alright then smart arse," Gary sat back down and took deep, calming breaths, "What should I be doing?"

"Well you really shouldn't assume that Misty is just going to jump into your arms for one thing."

"So I should talk to her?"

"It would be a start," Brock said wryly. "Then you'll need to take a good, long look at her, make sure it's actually her you want."

Gary looked confused, "Why wouldn't I be sure of that?"

It was Brock's turn to be puzzled, "Don't you resent her? Even just a little bit?"

"Why would I?" Gary asked, his eyebrows furrowed together.

"Oh for the love of- Gary!" Brock suddenly shot up in his seat and began to tug at his hair, "You can never go back to her! Not until you blame her!"

His eyes narrowed "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You can blame Ash and Leaf for what happened all you like, but at some point you need to blame Misty for leaving you! You need to have it out with her once and for all to truly move forward!"

"But she didn't do anything-"

"Yes she did!" Brock cried, "I saw you, right after and up until a few weeks ago. Misty broke you, and not once have you blamed her for it! You've held on to whatever anger you felt towards her and never let it out, and you need to if you're ever to forgive her and get back together!"

"But Misty-"

"'But Misty' nothing!" Brock yelled passionately, "She knows what she did; you wouldn't be telling her anything new but this wouldn't be for her benefit, it would be for yours. You going back to her isn't you and her resuming your relationship, it's far too late for that; it's starting something completely new and after everything that has happened between the two of you you need the blank slate."

The tension in Gary's body disappeared as he slumped further into his seat and let out a deep sigh, contemplating Brock's words. "You really think I should go find Misty with the sole purpose of yelling at her?" he asked tiredly.

"For shits' sake man, you don't have to yell at her!" Brock was nearing the end of his tether, hands raking through and tugging harshly at his hair, "You just need to confront her, tell her what she did to you, get it all off your chest and finally you might be able to breathe easy again."

For a few mostly silent minutes punctuated by both man's heavy breathing, Gary sat in pensive contemplation. "Fuck, I hate it when you're right," he said eventually.

Brock snorted smugly, "I sure as hell don't."

Gary rolled his eyes and let out a weak laugh, "Shocker."

"Seriously though," Brock continued, "You've been sitting on this for years, it can't possibly be healthy. Even if getting back together with her wasn't something you were interested in I'd still suggest it just so it's not at the back of your mind any longer."

"Why don't I…" he trailed off in a huff, "I do and I don't… I know what Ash is like, I can't blame her for how it happened, but on the other hand I want to hate her but I can't!"

"That is exactly the sort of thing you should be telling her, not me."

"How the hell do you start a conversation like that anyway?" Gary asked rhetorically.

"She did mention that you very nearly tried to have this conversation when you were telling her about Ash and Leaf, you've obviously been thinking about it," Brock pointed out as he stood and walked over to the fridge, opening it and pulling out two beer bottles.

"Thought you said you didn't have anything to drink," Gary remarked with a smirk.

"I lied," Brock said as he passed a bottle over and sat back down. "I do have something I'd like to ask you about all that though."

"Shoot," said Gary as he took the first sip, his eyes watering slightly as the bubbles moved down his throat.

Brock took a long sip and set the bottle on the table in front of him. "Why did you tell Misty what was happening? You could have just as easily left Ash to tell her."

Gary leaned back in the seat and sighed, "You know, I have absolutely no idea. It might have been because subconsciously I wanted to see her hurt as I told her that her precious Ash fucked her over, it might have been because I wanted to be the person she let hold her while she cried over everything, it doesn't help either case that she didn't look hurt or upset when I told her. Maybe I was just sick of not speaking to her and finally found the perfect excuse. Maybe I just wanted see her again, no matter the circumstances."

Brock chuckled and shook his head, "You are a riddle, Gary Oak."

"I prefer 'enigma'," said Gary thoughtfully as he swirled the contents of his bottle, "sounds way cooler."

"You know what? It kind of does," Brock raised his bottle to Gary's in a gesture of 'cheers' before both men fell into a companionable silence.

"Where did you go anyway Gary?" Brock asked suddenly, "I asked around but no one knew where you were. Your Grandfather was pretty worried and I had to stop your sister sending out a full scale search party."

"I went to my parents' old cabin at the Lake of Rage," he explained, "Its quiet, out of the way and seems to be in the middle of a technological dead spot, so no one could contact me and I couldn't contact anyone either. It was perfect, since the first few nights I did nothing but get drunk and there were a few people I really wanted to call. I would have said things I would have regretted or really offended someone."

"What were you doing out there? And why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I spent a lot of time just thinking about things, stuff I'd like to change about myself, how I want my life to be different. Every thought came back to the same person," he remarked with a wry smile. "And I didn't tell anyone because, well, that would have defeated the purpose of what I was doing."

"So, let me get this straight," Brock leaned forward in his seat, "You disappeared off the face of the earth for two weeks, to a cabin in another region which we both know is as good as another country, without telling a soul you even planned on leaving, simply to think things through?"

"That does sound about right, yes."

"I don't know whether I should be proud or annoyed," Brock mumbled.

"Be annoyed. I didn't do any of it thinking of you."

"When did you get back?"

"About an hour ago," Gary replied, "I haven't been to see anyone else yet."

"Oh, lucky me," Brock said dryly. "Do I win a prize as well?"

"I am your prize," Gary told him with a smirk, "The pleasure of my company is something lesser people fight for and here I am gracing you with it voluntarily."

"You know its saying shit like that that makes people think we're bent."

"People still say that? Despite the fact that I've walked in on you doing things to Suzie that no bent man would even contemplate?"

"They don't know that, do they?"

"No, I guess not. All they know is that I come to you and I spill my thoughts and feelings like some sort of sissy."

"Don't worry about it Gary; I'm sure they're just jealous of you. You could do far worse after all!"

"Bullshit! If anyone's jealous, it's of you for being with me!"

Brock turned to Gary with a raised eyebrow, "Really? This is what we're arguing about now?"

"Hey, you brought it up," Gary laughed.

"Doesn't that speak to my intelligence," Brock muttered as he stood, "Want another drink?"

"Plying me with liquor are you Brock?"

"I can give you fucking raspberry creaming soda if it'll make you feel safer in my company."

"Nah, I'll take my chances," Gary quipped as he took a second drink. "Besides, I'm as good as spoken for."

"Are you feeling better, though?" Brock asked as he as back down, "You've done what you needed to do?"

Gary nodded slowly and thoughtfully, "More or less," he said, "I guess the final showdown with Misty is all that's left. Maybe a little chat with Ash too."

"You said before you understand what Ash is like and why Misty did what she did; you have no reason to talk to Ash anymore outside of your probably not so irrational desire to kick him in the crotch."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks it's a good idea," Gary smirked, looking somewhat wistful as he indulged his little fantasy.

"I said I didn't think it was wholly irrational, not that I think you should. Besides, after all this there doesn't seem to be a reason why you would ever speak to each other again unless you ever decided to bury the hatchet, but with your remarkable ability to maintain a grudge I don't think that'll happen."

Gary just shrugged, leaning back in his seat as he twirled his bottle between his fingers, "You're right, I doubt it will."

Silence fell between the two men again. Gary turned towards the dying embers flickering in the fireplace and stared as though hypnotised, Brock stood and disposed of their empty bottles in the bin in the kitchen. A glance at the clock high on the wall told him it was nearly 1am. A dry chuckle from behind him caused Brock to jump.

"Don't worry about it Brock," Gary laughed as he stretched languidly, "I know when I've worn out my welcome."

"Don't let me try and talk you out of it," Brock replied lightly with his arms crossed over his chest.

Gary appeared hesitant, as though what he was about to say was painful, "Would I look like too much of a pansy if I got down on my hands and knees and thanked you profusely for everything you've ever done for me? Listening to my lovesick bullshit as well as my blatant ignorance included?"

Brock nodded seriously, "Maybe a little."

"Hmm, thought it might," Gary said pensively, "How about a handshake?"

"That I think I can do," Brock grinned. He extended his hand to clasp Gary's firmly.

"Can you do me one more small favour?"

Brock feigned a long suffering sigh, "If I have to."

"Don't tell Misty I'm back yet."

His eyes widened slightly, "You should know she was pretty worried about you too, she'd want to know you're back."

"Yeah, I get that but…" he began to rub the back of his neck in an unconscious gesture that, whether he liked it or not, he probably picked up from Ash, "I came back expecting one conversation with her, now I'm expecting a totally different one. I need more time."

"What should I tell her in the meantime? She will ask, she's been asking for ages."

"Just tell her you heard from me and I'm safe; it's not a total lie anyway."

"How long do you think you'll need?"

"Another week should do it, I guess. Just don't bring me up, how hard can it be?"

Brock sighed and ran a hand through his hair again, "Fine, I'll try. Where will you be in the meantime?"

"I'll go back home to Viridian. Leaf should have moved out by now-"

"She did," Brock cut in, "I spoke to Ash last week and he said she moved in with him. You should probably know he said he planned on marrying her. I don't know whether he got around to asking her, he seemed really nervous, but that was his plan."

"Good luck to them," Gary waved his hand dismissively, "I don't care anymore. They can do what they like; not like it's ever stopped them before, they've been doing it for years."

"Back to the point at hand," Brock said somewhat awkwardly, "Yes, your house is empty. I'll keep your secret, but don't take too long, alright?"

Both men started towards the door as Gary simply nodded. He stepped over the threshold and onto the soft grass of the front lawn to stare at the stars hanging low and clear in the night sky.

"Good luck, I guess," Brock said as he leaned on the door-frame.

"I don't think its luck I need; I just need to script what I'm going to say."

"Break a leg then?"

Gary chuckled and shook his head, "Yeah, sure. Whatever." He shoved his hands in his pockets and continued across the lawn. "Later, Brock," he called as he was almost out of sight.

"Later. Oh, and Gary?"

"Yeah?"

Brock moved back into the house and started to pull the door closed, "You're welcome."

**-XXX-**

Her jaw still dropped whenever her eyes fell on it.

Regardless of any promises made in the heat of the moment, which she would have been stupid to take seriously anyway, Leaf never really allowed herself to believe that Ash would ever actually propose to her. After all, everything was still so new, loose ends had yet to be tied up and the baby… well, the baby was a huge surprise to them both.

Even now, over a week since it happened, she still believed she was imagining the beautiful white gold diamond ring nestled on the fourth finger of her left hand.

An almost smug sounding chuckle broke her out of her reverie. Her head snapped up to see Ash standing over her holding a tray topped with a teapot and cups. He placed the tray down on the low table in front of them and took a seat beside her. "I did a good job with that one, didn't I?"

Leaf rolled her eyes but allowed a giddy sort of smile to break out across her features, "It is beautiful, stunning really."

Ash took her left hand in his and pressed a gentle kiss over the ring. "Mum won't be too much longer; she's just finishing up lunch."

Leaf simply nodded nervously in response. While she knew Delia Ketchum was quite possibly the least judgmental woman to ever grace the planet, Leaf couldn't help but feel incredibly nervous. After confronting her own family with the news of her pregnancy and the end of her relationship with Gary, feeling the full force of their less than accepting reactions, she had wanted to delay telling Delia for as long as she possibly could. However, she was now entering her third month, and they wouldn't be able to hide it much longer.

"She already knows Misty and I aren't together anymore, and I told her about you and Gary," Ash continued cheerfully, blissfully ignorant to his girlfriends' inner turmoil, "I don't think she'll be angry or upset about all this, she's been on me for grandkids since she deemed me old enough to have them."

"Yeah, with Misty!" Leaf all but exploded, "I'm not part of your mothers' plan for grandchildren! What if she hates me?"

"Well you're part of the plan now, since you're having one," Ash pointed out with a grin, "And I don't think my mum is capable of hating anyone, least of all the woman carrying her first grandchild."

The crash of a plate falling to the ground alerted the young couple to the fact that they were no longer alone in the room. Both slowly looked up with their hearts in their throats to find Delia Ketchum standing in the doorway, a dumbstruck expression on her face.

"You're pregnant," she said softly to Leaf.

Slowly Leaf managed to nod, pulling herself up to sit straight, "Yes, I am."

Delia turned to her son, her face unreadable, "Is this why?"

Ash shook his head, "No, or at least it's not the main reason."

She turned back to Leaf, "How far along are you?"

"Nearly three months," she spoke.

Delia's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as she turned back to her son, "But you and Misty-"

"I know, I know," Ash said in a placating tone as he stood to face his mother, "We didn't exactly do any of this right but you have to understand mum, Leaf and I weren't happy with Gary and Misty and while we didn't mean for it to go as far as it has, neither of us can imagine it any other way. Leaf is having my baby, _your grandchild_, and we're engaged," Delia's eyes widened as they dropped to her future daughter-in-laws' left ring finger, "Please be happy for us Mum, I finally am."

He watched warily as her shoulders slumped and her eyes fell shut. Something between a deep sigh and a choked sob sounded from her throat as she walked the short distance over to her son and seized him in a tight hug, tears pooling in the crook of his neck as she began to cry.

Ash could hear Leaf heave a loud sigh of relief as he awkwardly brought a hand up to pat his mothers' back. When she finally pulled away from the hug, keeping her hands on his shoulders, Delia let out a deep sigh of her own and flashed a watery smile. "Are you sure about all of this Ash?"

He nodded, "I've never been more sure of anything else," he answered without a hint of doubt.

"Then of course I'm happy for you," Delia said warmly as she pulled Ash back in for another hug. "Your happiness is all I'll ever want."

"Mum!" Ash called with a choked laugh after a few moments, "You're strangling me!"

Blushing slightly she pulled back again, "Sorry, I'm just so…" she trailed off before smiling again and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek and sitting herself down next to Leaf who looked on with a nervous smile.

"How are you feeling?" Delia asked her.

"Um, fine, I guess," Leaf said with a shaky smile. "The last ultrasound was fine but it's still too early to tell what I'm having, and the morning sickness isn't as bad as I was led to believe so all in all I'm good."

"You want to know what we're having?" Ash asked her softly.

"Well, yes!" Leaf laughed. "I'm not big on generic colours, I'd rather just buy pink or blue and to do that with any real certainty we'll have to find out beforehand."

"She has a point Ash," Delia said with a small smile. "I didn't find out your gender before you were born and you're bedroom was yellow and white with green Pokémon silhouettes, still a little girly more than anything." She turned back to Leaf and poured herself a cup of tea from the tray Ash bought in, "Have you started buying anything?"

Leaf relaxed in her seat and felt the tension and nervousness begin to float from her body, "Nothing yet," she replied, "I figure there's still plenty of time before we need to start thinking about prams and things, and like I said we'll wait until we know the gender before we start buying clothes or think about decorating."

Delia nodded furiously in agreement, "Have you told your parents yet?"

Both Ash and Leaf froze at the mention of her parents. "Yes," she said hesitantly, "They, uh, they didn't take it too well."

In a gesture he looked to only be half aware he was performing, Ash extended an arm to wrap around the young woman next to him, pulling her closer as she rested her head against his shoulder. Delia found herself suppressing a small smile at the display.

"They weren't particularly supportive," Ash provided as Leaf looked as though she might cry.

"Oh," Delia bit her bottom lip, "Well, if you ever need anything Leaf, I'm here and only too happy to help."

A grateful smile lit up Leaf's features and she nodded thankfully but didn't speak.

"Now," an almost devious, plotting sort of grin worked its way onto Delia's face, "What are your plans for this wedding?"

Both Ash and Leaf chuckled at that as they slowly pulled away from each other, "I want to be married before the baby comes," Leaf said with a defiant air.

Ash looked aghast where Delia simply looked thoughtful. "It's too late now if you didn't want to show," she mused as Leaf shook her head to indicate she didn't mind, "I suppose we could put it together in a couple of months if you didn't mind having it on the grounds of the Oak Mansion. The grounds there are beautiful, but with everything with Gary I understand that you might not want it there."

"It is lovely there," Leaf said contemplatively.

"And the Professor wouldn't have a problem with us having it there," Ash continued.

"Unless he blames me for everything with Gary," Leaf pointed out with a suddenly downcast expression.

Delia shook her head, "He's too kind a man to blame you for anything. Besides, he'd do almost anything for Ash too."

Leaf looked over to Ash questioningly, "What do you think?"

He shrugged, "If you think we should then so do I. You're sure you don't want to wait until you've had the baby?"

She shook her head, "It doesn't bother me at all. Besides, I think I'd much rather be married when the baby comes," she turned back to Delia, "How long do you think this will take?"

"We could probably get it organised inside a month or two. It wouldn't be too fancy; Samuel could officiate, all we'd really need to get done is food and guests, plus you'd need a dress, and there's always…" she trailed off and began muttering to herself, picking herself up off the chair as she went in search of a notebook to start writing everything down.

With a laugh Ash got up and proceeded to tidy up the mess made when Delia dropped their lunch on the floor. "I think it's pretty safe to say she doesn't hate you," he said with a smirk.

"I hope she doesn't, but I never even considered the Professor," Leaf admitted, "I don't even know if Gary told him anything."

"Professor Oak really is a lot like my mum, too kind for his own good," Ash said cheerfully from the floor, "I wouldn't worry about it."

"Found it!" Delia burst back into the room breathlessly, "Finally! Can never find one when you need it- oh, thank you Ash- anyway Leaf," she sat back down with a pen poised over the paper, "do you have any ideas?"

Leaf couldn't believe it. She had come today expecting to be turned away by Delia like she had been by her own parents, but so far she had found herself blindsided by support from this woman who was full of nothing but sympathy and excitement, not to mention her admirable desire to see her son happy and fulfilled. Leaf allowed herself to relax properly and began to talk through ideas for her wedding with the woman who would soon be her mother-in-law as the man who would soon be her husband watched on with a wry quirk of his eyebrow as he eyed them both indulgently. _This_ is how it was meant to be.

* * *

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**AN: **Well then, there you have it! Hopefully you're all looking forward to the next chapter; we'll finally have Gary and Misty in the same room again, but don't hold your breath if you're hoping for some happy, romantic reunion; if you know my stories you know I won't make it easy for them!

I know I did this a lot back when I was still working on 'STSS', but I have make another plug for the EgoShipping story 'Hunt' by Charityx. If you haven't already, go have a read of it and leave her a review. It's an awesome, action-packed story that is starting to wind down, so we're at the real good bits with it now.

Prettiest-of-pleases leave me a review? As usual, those who do will get a preview of the next chapter.


	6. Communication

And here we are once more! This chapter was a blast to write, if a little rushed in parts, so I hope you enjoy it too! So let's just get stuck into it, shall we?

**DISCLAIMER:** Yadda yadda yadda, I don't own anything you recognise, now let's just do this!

'To the Happy Couple'

Chapter 6: 'Communication'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

It had been nearly three weeks.

"Sure," Misty grumbled to herself as she took her fork and violently stabbed at the chopped strawberries in the bowl of fruit salad in front of her, "I'll call you since you asked so nice, hell I might even be interested in what's happening on your end too. Jerk."

Three weeks and there had been absolutely no sign of Gary Oak, and it was really starting to piss her off. Never mind the fact that _he_ was the one who asked her to call him when all was said and done with Ash. Not even Brock was providing any assistance! Whenever she asked Brock where Gary was all that met her was a small smile and a shaky attempt at deception as he told her he had no idea where Gary was. Brock was many things, but by no means was he an even remotely convincing liar.

On the off chance that Gary _had_ tried to murder Ash, she considered contacting him, but her nerves did her in every time. Of all the things Brock had been willing to share with her, he had decided that Ash proposing to Leaf and their happy little swan off into the sunset was something she needed to know about. While Misty couldn't say she had been as happy as she could have been during her time with Ash or that she particularly wanted him to begin with, it hurt a little to know he could so easily bounce back, let alone begin preparations for his wedding to another woman just two short weeks after their official breakup.

In the back of her mind she wondered just how Delia was taking all of this. The woman was as good as a mother to her and was always first to stand up for the sisterhood when a woman had been wronged. Misty couldn't imagine Delia would take too kindly to what her own son had done.

Resuming the violent battle with her chopped fruit, Misty attempted to calm herself down by allowing her thoughts to drift to other things of no real consequence, like what she was going to buy Daisy for her thirtieth birthday next month, or whether or not she should redecorate her home now that she lived alone once more.

She was chewing contemplatively on a piece of pineapple and considering varying shades of green for her living room walls when the ringing of her mobile phone broke her out of her reverie. She couldn't suppress the growl that bubbled up in her throat upon seeing who the caller was.

Clicking the button to accept the call she bought the phone to her ear, blurting out before she could stop herself a poisonous sounding, "Alive, are you?"

She heard a smug sounding chuckle from the other end, _"Your concern is __appreciated Red. Are you ready yet?"_

"Ready for what?" she asked, confused.

She heard a sigh this time, _"For the conversation you refused to have three weeks ago?__ That you promised you'd have with me when you were ready?__"_

"You actually want to speak now?" she spat before she could stop herself, "Three goddamn weeks Oak! You asked me to call you after I had spoken with Ash yet you disappear to God knows where for three weeks without so much as an 'I'll talk to you later'! Where the hell were you?"

"_Were you__ worried about me?" _he asked in an amused tone. _"Really Red, you ought to know me a little better than to think I was in some sort of trouble. If something big had happened that I might have needed to think over, where do you think I would have gone?"_

Comprehension washed over her as she remembered a weekend spent at a cabin Gary once referred to as his 'safe place', "Lake of Rage?"

"_Got it in one," _he said, _"The Lake of Rage, where you should know from personal experience that no one could have contacted me and I couldn't contact anyone either."_

"Fine," she conceded slowly, "But that doesn't excuse you from just disappearing without a word."

"_I'm sorry," _he said, sounding surprisingly honest, _"Admittedly I kind of dropped the ball there, but I really needed to get away and I made Brock promise not to tell you I had come back, but I promi__se I'll explain myself properly when I see you next. When will that be?"_

Stumped now that she had been put on the spot, she stumbled over her words. "I… I really don't care. It can be whenever you want," she replied in a tone she hoped was dismissive as she spooned heaped mounds of yoghurt on her fruit, following it up with a liberal amount of honey.

"_Tomorrow afternoon at the park in Pallet Town,"_ he stated in a tone that told her it wasn't a suggestion.

That was certainly an odd choice. "…you're absolutely certain you want to meet there?" she asked, surprised.

"_Seems fitting, don't you think?"_

"Okay then," she replied as she tried to keep the hesitance from her tone, not wanting him to know just how perplexed she was at his choice of venue, "I'll be there."

Silence fell between the two that felt no less awkward than it might have had they been talking face to face. _"__I guess I'll see you then,"_ he said distantly. He didn't bother waiting for a reply and hung up, leaving Misty with her mouth gaping, listening disbelievingly to the dial tone that seemed to mock her as it beeped away.

Setting her mobile phone back down on the table beside her she pushed her fruit salad away. She cursed the fact that he didn't use a video phone to contact her, she would have liked to have watched Gary during that call; it would have been most interesting, though that was probably exactly why he hadn't called using one in the first place.

Deciding she needed another point of view, Misty crossed the room and walked towards the actual video phone, propped up on the wall in front of a small desk not unlike a large flat screen television. Sitting in front of it she lifted the phone from the cradle and dialed the well-worn sequence of numbers for her best friend.

She drummed her fingers idly against the varnished wood of the desk as she waited for Brock to pick up the phone. Either he wasn't home, or he was staring at the caller ID wondering if the conversation that was about to follow was worth it. Misty knew every man, woman and their long-dead grandma went to Brock for advice, she wouldn't blame him in the slightest if he was getting a little sick of it.

"Come on, come on," she muttered to herself as she waited, jumping when the screen flickered to life and the image of Brock looked down upon her.

"_Morning Misty,"_ he said, sounding and looking incredibly flustered with a piece of toast hanging from his mouth and a jacket half slung around his shoulders. _"__Sorry that took so long, we're having a few__…__ problems over here."_

Misty tried to peer over his shoulders and saw Suzie darting back and forth looking similarly frazzled. "Oh, sorry; I can call back later if you want?"

"_Its fine, we're alright now__, just a little late is all. What's on your mind?"_

"I had an interesting phone call this morning," Misty said as she chewed apprehensively at her bottom lip. "From Gary."

Brock didn't appear too surprised, biting into his toast nonchalantly, _"I was wondering when he'd finally contact you."_

"He wants to meet me tomorrow."

"_Is there something wron__g with that?"_

"Well, no… I guess not. I just…"

"_You're worried about what he's going to say, aren't you?"_

Misty looked down to the desk, suddenly fascinated by the grain of the wood. "A little bit, yes."

Brock sighed and ran a hand over the stubble lightly prickling his chin, _"Misty, I'll be honest with you; I did speak to Gary when he came back-"_

"Hmm, really? Never would have guessed."

"_-And __he's doing a lot better with this whole Ash and Leaf situation after having some time to think it over, so that probably isn't what he wants to talk about__.__ I'm sure you can guess what he wants with you now, so the only piece of advice I can give is to just let him say what he needs to say.__" _

She sighed, "It's time, isn't it?" she acknowledged meekly.

"_It's been__ five years in the making,"_ Brock replied with a sympathetic smile. _"It was bound to come to a head sooner or later.__ If you like you can come here afterwards, Suzie won't mind.__"_

Misty smiled gratefully, "Thanks, I probably will."

"_Look Misty, I have to g__o,__" _Brock said apologetically,_"__but remember Gary doesn't say anything he doesn't mean. He's been sitting on this for years and while I told him not to, he probably will explode. Hell, he needs to."_

Misty hung her head in resignation, "You're right."

He shot a reassuring smile, _"He won't hurt you, certainly not on purpose and definitely not physically. Despite everything, you mean a lot to him. I doubt he could hurt you if he tried."_

Misty shook her head, "This is stupid! Why am I so nervous?"

"_Because you're probably going to__ hear some things you might not want to hear. But you need to hear it as much as he needs to say so I'm going to tell you this once; suck it up and get it over with, alright?"_

Misty raised an eyebrow, "Yes, Dad."

"_One would certainly think so__ with all the advice I dole out, wouldn't they?__" _Brock retorted with a smirk. _"Good luck Misty," _he said before hanging up as the screen faded to black.

Putting the phone back in its place, Misty stood and walked back to her living room and threw herself onto the sofa that took up almost the entire length of the room. For almost ten minutes she lay in silence and stared at the stale looking plain white paint that covered her walls that had begun to peel in the corners revealing the pale blue that was once underneath. If a house was a reflection of one's self then what exactly did her house say about her? Her eyes widened; yes, it was definitely time for a change, in every possible way. Hauling herself back up, she grabbed her keys and drove off to the nearest hardware store to buy as many sample cans of paint as she could carry in an absolute rainbow of shades. If Gary could take a week for self-reflection then surely Misty could take an afternoon to make a few changes as well. Grinning to herself, she began to take her paintbrush to the walls, applying the paints in patches to find her perfect new colour, feeling the stress she had felt over the past few weeks float away as patch by patch the horrible white of her walls was obscured from her view.

**-XXX-**

Whenever Delia Ketchum was stressed, worried or otherwise preoccupied by the goings-on of her life, she tended to her garden, but it was never a simple task like weeding or watering.

When Delia was appropriately driven by life's pressures she could be found completely digging up flowerbeds, turning over soil, on occasion she had even been known to dig up and replant entire sections of grass to create new pathways through the gardens.

Today found her in the process of removing a tree stump. By hand. However, it wasn't a personal issue that drove her to the garden today; it was something Delia had absolutely no control over.

There was little doubt to anyone that knew her that Delia loved her son. He was her only child, a miracle born after numerous heartbreaking miscarriages, an astounding physical reminder of her late husband who died a short seven months after Ash was born. Ash was her light, her reason for being, and the unequivocal love of her life.

But he was a complete and utter moron sometimes.

It didn't matter how he explained what he did or why he did it, Delia couldn't understand it. Surely she raised Ash better than that? Better than to cheat on the woman he had been in love with since he was ten years old?

She hacked viciously with well-aimed, practiced swings at the stump with a too small axe.

Internally she was pleased the Professor had denied Ash and Leaf's request to have their wedding on the grounds of the Oak Mansion and she hated herself for it. Delia couldn't recall a time where she had been as at odds with herself as she was now. As a modern, enlightened woman she hated the way Ash had gone about what had happened; to cheat on the woman you are engaged to, no matter how shaky the relationship had become, was despicable and she couldn't believe her own son would stoop so low. But there was another part of her mind that hated that train of thought; it really seemed to Delia that she was begrudging her own son his happiness. What sort of mother did that make her?

She watched as satisfyingly large chunks of wood began to fall from the stump, littering the ground with pieces to be burned later.

Then there was Misty to consider in all of this, a girl who, no matter what happened, would always be something of an honourary daughter to her. Ash had been adamant that Misty had been quite miserable for the duration of their relationship, but that didn't make it any better. The fact that she may or may not have been happy did not give him license to cheat on her, and it was made even worse by the fact that Ash was aware of it. How was that meant to make poor Misty feel? For that matter how was Gary feeling in all this?

A few more full-bodied swings of the axe had the stump reduced to a two inch high, jagged circle of wood. Delia tossed the axe aside and grabbed a shovel and began to dig around the remains of the stump.

Where Misty was an honourary daughter, Gary was something of an honourary son. Delia had known Gary since the boy had still been in nappies. He and Ash had played together since almost infancy. She had had many a coffee with Gary's mother, rest her soul. Delia had watched the boy accomplish so many of his dreams and grow up into the impressive man he had become today, and she did so with all the pride his own mother would have felt. He didn't deserve what had happened any more than Misty had.

It wasn't that she hated Leaf. She was a sweet girl, remarkably beautiful too, and Delia had seen her fair share of the young girl when she was a child living with her family in Pallet Town before moving away, only coming back to the Kanto region a little over five years ago. What Delia did have a problem with was respecting the girl who would undoubtedly be her true daughter-in-law sometime in the next few months. If she could so carelessly disregard Gary and by extension Misty, what would stop her from doing it again? What had been her thought process when it had all began? Ash's wealth after obtaining his Master title was widely known; maybe the baby was a ploy for Leaf to attach herself to that wealth and Ash was just being strung along? No, Leaf didn't seem like the sort… Maybe-

"Delia?" an amused voice called from beyond her white picket fence, "What are you doing?"

Delia lifted her head up and saw the crinkled eyes and small smirk (_must be some sort of dominant Oak trait_, she thought wryly) of Professor Samuel Oak. "Oh, Sam!" she said with a flustered smile, "I didn't see you there."

"Indeed you did not, I've been standing here for five minutes now trying to get your attention," he replied, eyes twinkling as he adjusted a bag under his arm, "What has you so worried this morning?"

She raised an eyebrow and placed a gloved hand on her hip, "What makes you think I'm worried about anything?"

He laughed, "Just the fact that we've been neighbours for over twenty years and the only time you take to your garden in such a manner is when you're at a point of great upheaval in your life," he told her with a now gentle smile.

Sighing, Delia pulled the gardening gloves from her hands and tossed them to the ground, walking over to the fence to open the gate and let the Professor in to talk properly. "I think you know what has me worried."

For a brief flash of a moment, Delia could have sworn the features of the Professor had darkened as he comprehended her meaning and walked the well-trodden path to the Ketchum home. "Ah," was all he said.

Opening the door and walking inside, Delia motioned for Sam to take a seat at the kitchen table as she went about preparing tea and assembling various biscuits on a plate for them to share. Both conducted themselves in silence until Delia placed the cups and plate on the table and sat down on the creaking chair with a sigh. It wasn't until they were halfway through their tea that either attempted to speak.

"Are you upset that I didn't allow Ash and Leaf to marry on the estate?" Sam asked.

Delia shook her head, "I don't blame you in the least, I wasn't sure you'd agree to begin with. It's just that… I'm having a hard time accepting the choices Ash made."

Sam nodded in understanding, "As am I. I always thought Ash had more sense than this. Leaf too."

"What made you say no?" Delia asked, curious as Ash had never explained that part.

"I couldn't in all good conscience allow it because I knew how it would affect Gary after everything he had been through with Ash last time, and out of respect to Misty of course."

Delia regarded the Professor warily, "What do you mean 'everything he went through with Ash last time'? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Sam gave a small smile, "This isn't the first time Ash has… intervened in one of Gary's relationships."

Delia's eyes widened in shock, "What? This has happened before?"

Sam nodded, relaxed into his seat and looked thoughtful. "It wasn't quite as… dramatic the first time, but it did happen. Gary didn't hide it from me as well as I think he thought he did, though I don't think anyone else knew they were together. More than once I caught them sneaking around together in the Mansion, sometimes in somewhat compromising positions, but never called them out on it. He loved her though, that much was certain. I always thought Gary would speak to me about it when he was ready to, maybe even ask for his mothers' engagement ring, but that time never came. I think they were together for almost a year before it just stopped suddenly, without any kind of warning. Incidentally, it was just after the party thrown for Ash after he won his Master title that Gary and his girlfriend seemed simply to dissolve, when Ash and Misty became a couple."

Delia gasped as she caught his meaning, "Gary and Misty were together before that night?"

Sam nodded, "Whatever happened afterwards, I don't know. I came back to the mansion from the party later that night to find Gary as good as passed out drunk with Brock helping him up the stairs. The next day… I could only describe Gary as broken. It wasn't long after that that he began courting Leaf, a source of comfort no doubt; she had a crush on Gary as a girl that never really went away."

"I had no idea…" Delia said quietly as she thought back over the course of the past few years trying to find something, anything at all that she might have missed that would have hinted at this secret past. She remembered the night of the party thrown for Ash; when he kissed Misty in the middle of the room she did nothing to either encourage or discourage any of it, she simply seemed indifferent, accepting what happened but not particularly wanting any of it. Looking back now, it was quite obvious how little enthusiasm she had shown then and indeed throughout the course of their relationship.

Sam took another deep gulp from his cup, "So I'm sure you'll understand if I have no desire to hold a wedding in my backyard that won't do anything but offend my grandson and the woman he's still in love with."

Delia shook her head, "No, of course not. If anything I'm pleased you said no, even if our reasons for not wanting it aren't the same." She was still confused though, "But if Misty and Gary were as happy as you say, then why did she leave him?"

"It's simple really," Sam remarked with a wry smile, "Misty, and indeed any of his friends, has a very hard time denying that son of yours anything. How else can he convince others to accompany him on his journeys so easily? What else could she do when Ash kissed her and smiled at her as he did?"

Delia nodded in understanding. She had noticed the lengths many of Ash's friends had gone to over the course of his trainer journey to keep him happy. Delia always appreciated it, especially knowing she couldn't be there herself, but she had always found it somewhat strange when she considered they were all as good as complete strangers, no one really knowing the other any better at the end. Ash never stayed together particularly long with with any of his travelling companions with the exception of Misty and Brock who were the only two with whom Ash still remained close friends. Samuel did have a point though; Delia couldn't imagine how she might have reacted had she been in Misty's position that night with a friendship with Ash that ran as deep as it did. "And you don't blame Misty for what happened with Gary afterwards?"

"I don't blame any of them," he waved a hand dismissively. "They were young, still only teenagers at the time, and what is young love without a few wrong turns along the way? Besides, it it's meant to be, it will be; they'll find their way."

Delia sat in contemplative silence, her mind drawing connections and pulling pieces together until she felt as though she had at least a semi complete idea of what had happened. "It's all quite sad really, isn't it?" she remarked softly.

"Indeed it is," Sam replied with an easy nod. "But I'm sure everything will sort itself out in the end. I don't know how, but I know it will. The same goes for Ash and Leaf also, presuming they remain together."

"I hope you're right," Delia sighed. "I just want everyone to be happy."

Sam smiled, "I don't think it's too far off. Gary came back yesterday after disappearing for a week and I think he's sorted himself out for the most part. Misty, I'm not sure but she's always been a strong, stubborn young woman. I know neither are idle people; if they want to rekindle their relationship they will. As for Ash and Leaf, I suppose we'll have to wait and see but we both know that child of theirs won't ever go without."

Delia reached for a chocolate biscuit and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully as she nodded, "You're probably right as usual."

"What do you want to see happen anyway?"

She shook her head, "I'm not even sure. Some part of me still wants Ash to be with Misty, but after what you just told me I think she should go back to Gary. I'm not even sure where Leaf fits into everything in my head but it makes me feel terrible that I'm not happier at the prospect of becoming a grandmother and I feel like I'm a terrible mother for going against something Ash really thinks will make him happy and-"

The Professor surprised her by laughing, "I can tell you now that's all completely normal. You loved Misty like a daughter and you're still trying to reconcile your feelings about your son committing an act you find absolutely abhorrent. Everything stopped so suddenly and you weren't kept in the loop at all; you're still getting used to all the changes occurring around you, and they're huge changes! You aren't a bad mother or person at all Delia, everything that's happening would take a toll on anyone. God knows I've lost sleep over it."

"You have?" Delia asked, wide eyed.

"Oh my, yes! It must have all been very difficult for Gary to reconcile his feelings if he felt as though he had to disappear for a week without telling anyone. When it all came to light I was incredibly worried for him. I just wish he had told me everything earlier, especially about Misty, then they might not be in this mess, but also about everything with Leaf instead of having to hear it from herself and Ash."

Delia smiled somewhat guiltily, "I must confess I never really considered it from your end."

Sam waved a hand, "It all affects you far more than it does I. Gary being the sort of person he is, someone who tends to internalise everything, you can't help but worry when he feels driven to do something one might consider somewhat reckless in response." He stood and stretched before bending with a small groan to retrieve his shopping bag from the floor. "I should probably get back to the lab; those assistants hardly know what to do with themselves when I'm not around."

Delia stood, as a proper host does, to see her guest from her house, following him outside to the gate. As he was about to leave, Sam turned to her again, "Talk to Ash again, Leaf too. Maybe you can come to some sort of understanding if you can all talk it through properly instead of having the conversation weighed down by baby talk."

"That's probably a good idea." She smiled, "Thank you for everything Sam."

"Not a problem at all Delia. I'm just up the road if you ever want to talk." He shot another of the patented Oak winks and set off down the road again.

As Delia watched the Professor leave she sighed, feeling like she had a far better grasp of everything now that she'd had the chance to talk everything through, but still not approving any of their actions by any means. Another talk with Ash and Leaf actually did sound like it might be a good idea, but it didn't stop the alarm bells ringing in her brain as a result.

She picked up the shovel again and starting removing the earth from around the stump. It wasn't going to go anywhere by itself after all.

**-XXX-**

Misty's eyes darted around the park nervously as she sat on the low stone bench, watching and waiting for the man who should have arrived ten minutes ago. Why she agreed to meet up with Gary here of all places she'd never know.

Thankfully the approaching dusk meant the park was as good as deserted when she had arrived, that and the fact that the sky overhead was thick with dark, almost black storm clouds; the last thing she wanted was to scare unsuspecting children and their parents with the screaming match she felt would inevitably occur as soon as Gary arrived.

Misty didn't know whether or not it was Gary's sense of poetic justice or his prevailing sense of irony that made him choose this park as the venue for their 'final showdown' as she had dubbed it. To bring her back to the very place where she had broken his heart seemed strange, yet oddly apt; bringing her back here meant they had finally come full circle.

She continued to look around anxiously, her breath coming quicker the longer she waited. Before long she had been waiting twenty minutes. Letting out a deep sigh of frustration Misty stood and pulled the jacket she was wearing tighter around herself, debating internally as to whether or not she should just leave. The crunching of the dried leaves and small twigs underfoot behind her made her jump.

She swiveled around and gasped in surprise as she found herself face to face once more with Gary Oak. He looked so different from the last time she saw him. At their meeting three weeks ago and even before that he seemed generally unwell, but looking at him now was reminiscent of the man he once was, the man who bowled her over with a simple smile as his charm, charisma and a few well-placed touches did the rest of the work for him.

She blushed after a few awkward moments after she realised she had been staring, but Gary seemed not to take much notice, looking down at the ground with his hands shoved inside his jacket pockets as he shuffled in place, his expression one of conflicted defiance. _An odd combination_, she thought to herself.

"Hi," he greeted hesitantly.

"Hi," she replied quietly with an equal amount of trepidation. "Lake of Rage, huh?" she inquired before the silence strangled them both.

He nodded, "It seemed the best place for a bit of soul searching."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Last I checked, I don't answer to you," he told her tersely, "Besides, I didn't tell anyone."

Misty rolled her eyes in annoyance, "I'm just saying it might have been polite to mention something, particularly when you actually did ask me to call you after I finished up with Ash."

"Look, I said I was sorry yesterday, didn't I?" Gary snapped, "Can we please jut get on with it? I have a lot I want to say."

Her mouth shut instantly and she let out a deep breath, readying herself for what was to come. This conversation had been five years in the making and she knew she deserved every word of it. Instead of answering with words she merely nodded.

"I've had a while to think about this, and how I'm going to say it," Gary said slowly, looking her dead in the eye, "I'd appreciate it if you'd just sit and listen."

Misty gulped nervously, "I owe you that much."

Gary nodded and took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. Misty could almost hear his mind whirring, trying to find a place to start. "It has been five _long_ years," he began as he sunk down onto the bench behind them, "In that time, I honestly had no idea how I should feel about you."

As promised Misty remained silent, sitting back down on the bench beside him and waiting for him to continue.

"I wanted to hate you," he continued after a few moments, "It would have been so much easier if I could have blocked you out for good and just ignored you forever, but I just couldn't do that. In all that time, I couldn't find it within myself to hate you, or blame you. I focused everything on Ash and never once spoke a word out of turn about you."

Wordlessly Misty nodded again and watched him expectantly with wide eyes.

"Did you know, even after everything, I still looked forward to seeing you? I hated Leaf at first for insisting on us having double dates with you and Ash, but after thinking about it for a while, how else was I going to see you?"

Misty gaped, "But… never once did you say a word, or even look at me-"

"What was I going to say Red?" he asked sarcastically, "'Hey, remember that year we spent together? You know, that year before you unceremoniously ditched me for no good reason to be with Ash? Good times weren't they?'" he couldn't help his voice rising to a yell by the end.

Still Misty sat resolute in the face of Gary's onslaught as the familiar sting of tears began to prick at her eyes.

"God Misty, I don't even know what happened back then and when I last asked you you didn't seem to get it either, so now, about five years after the fact, you've had plenty of time to go over it in your mind so let's hear it; I get that Ash can be a manipulative little bastard when he puts his mind to it, but I really thought you'd be stronger than to fall for it. What did he say to you to make you do it? Well?" he yelled after she didn't answer immediately.

"…nothing," she whispered, ashamed, "He didn't say a word."

He stood and began to pace, "Seriously?" he exploded, "Not a goddamn word? So, what, it was the power of his presence? Did his eyes twinkle just right? What? What the hell was it Misty? I deserve to fucking know!"

"I don't…" she trailed off wetly and held her head in her hands, "I have never been able to say no, I can't deny him anything, not after everything I've seen him go through," she said softly.

"So what does that make me, huh?" his breathing had become heavy and laboured, as though this conversation was draining every part of him. "God, was I anything at all to you?" he asked in a volume just above a whisper.

Her eyes shot up to meet his as she leapt from her seat, but he wasn't looking at her anymore, opting to stare into the pond. "Of course you were, you still are! I just-"

"Well you've got a real fucking funny way of showing it," he seethed at her as he rounded on her once more. How did he think he'd be able to get through this conversation without yelling? How did Brock think that for that matter? Wasn't he supposed to be the bloody smart one? Taking deep breaths, Gary willed himself to calm down before continuing. "The last time I asked you this, you evaded the question and you never gave me an answer; do you love Ash?"

A clap of thunder sounded overhead, distracting them both, followed shortly after by a flash of lightning that briefly lit the grounds of the park with a bright white glare. After a few ominous rumbles the heavens finally parted and gave way to cold rain, soaking both Misty and Gary to the bone; oddly enough, neither made to move for shelter.

"Well Misty?" Gary snapped, drawing her attention from the ripples on the pond, "Do you love Ash?"

"No," she whispered, "Not like that. I never stopped loving the last guy I was with."

It felt as though a cannon ball had been shot at Gary's stomach; the air in his lungs felt as though it had been violently forced out all at once, the full implications of her sentence perfectly clear. "So you didn't even leave for a reason?" he asked incredulously, opting to ignore the second part of her confession. "I could understand if you were in love with him, I wouldn't stand in your way if that was the case, but you feel nothing even remotely romantic for the guy and yet you still deemed it necessary to do what you did. I have no idea what's worse; that you'd leave me for no good reason without so much as a 'thanks for the memories' or that you were content to lead Ash on for five years!"

She wanted to argue that point; what she did with Ash was not all that different from what he did with Leaf. Both had been led on and believed things that could never be true. But she couldn't bring herself to do so; tears began to fall in earnest as her body was suddenly wracked by tremulous sobs.

"But you know what really kills me the most?" he breathed in a low tone, his hair almost black as it fell in heavy, wet strands across his eyes as he stepped closer until there was only inches separating them.

Misty shook her head in response, her tears mingling with the rain trailing down her face.

"What really gets me is that, in spite of everything, I still want you," he looked up at her with an expression of such sorrow, anger and wanting and gently, almost reverently brushed the wet, tangled mess of hair from her face. "I still want you, and I never stopped loving you." He let out a deep breath and began to walk away, leaving Misty to fall back to the bench, crying in the pouring rain. "And that fact makes me feel like the biggest idiot in the world."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

**AN: **Whoo! Another one down! And don't hate me just yet! We're only about halfway through this little tale, plenty of time to fix things :)

For those I may have confused, 'nappies' are 'diapers'.

A quick shout out to **Branmuffinpower **for her incredible story 'Game'. If you aren't already reading it, give it a look and leave a review, it really is an awesome slice of EgoShippy goodness that deserves far more attention!

Tell me your favourite book! I have a gift card for a bookstore I got for my birthday back in January and I still haven't used it. I went bonkers in another bookstore during a closing down sale a couple of months ago and bought an absolute shit ton of books so I haven't been able to decide on what to buy with the gift card! Leave a recommendation if you leave a review! Please leave a review?


	7. Affirmation

Hello everyone! I'm pleased people weren't as cut up at the ending of the previous chapter as I thought they might be. Honestly, I loved it; it was so much fun to write, as was this one! Anyway, a new chapter for you all, hope you enjoy it! Does implied sex count as a lime? Even if there aren't any naughty words or any descriptions of the act itself? If it does, there's a lime here!

**DISCLAIMER: **Shouldn't I be able to just whack a big, official looking disclaimer at the beginning of each story to save having to write a new one each time? No? Well, can't be helped I suppose… *ahem* I don't own Pokémon, as if that wasn't bloody obvious enough already…

'To The Happy Couple'

Chapter 7: 'Affirmation'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

With a loud bang the front door slammed, windows rattled and it sounded as though every picture, painting and photo that hung in the vicinity fell from their respective places on the wall to the ground with a crash. Livid ranting was heard as the echo of heavy footsteps carried down the halls.

Professor Samuel Oak sighed and set down his paperwork, pushed his chair from his desk and stood to leave; having lived with the young man most of his life, he recognised the familiar mannerisms of his grandson and under normal circumstances would leave him alone when he was like this, but it had been many, many years since Samuel had seen or heard Gary in such a state.

Normally he understood Gary to be a very casual, easy going young man. Not a whole lot really rattled him unless there was a major problem with his research, or you knew him well enough to properly push his buttons, and clearly whoever he had just been with knew how to do just that.

He left the dimly lit room of his home office and began to follow the mutterings, bracing himself against the wall when he almost slipped on a small puddle of water in the middle of the floor. Turning on the light when he reached the switch a few metres further down he looked up and down the hall, his jaw dropping as he took in muddy footprints peppered with bit of grass and leaves, a trail of water and a sodden jacket that had fallen from the rack and was quickly soaking the carpet mat in front of the door. He found himself torn between his almost obsessive desire to immediately clean the mess littering his hall and the need to find his grandson and find out what the problem was. Shaking his head, Samuel quickly turned and headed in the direction of the footprints, coming to a stop when he saw a light on under the kitchen door.

Pushing the door open quietly Sam peeked around the corner, watching Gary dry his hair with a towel he assumed he took from the nearby linen closet. The young man was soaked, his jeans dripping around his ankles, his shirt clinging to his skin. His mutterings were constant but Sam couldn't pick any words other than the more than occasional swear word, observing his clearly troubled countenance as he ran a hand through his damp hair. Sam chuckled quietly not at the obvious distress, but at the way his grandson's hair fell limp around his face, devoid of products. It was rare even when he was still living at the mansion not to see Gary with his hair styled in his trademark high spikes. Now, he looked like a small child again.

"I know you're there Gramps," Gary called wearily, hanging the towel around his neck.

Sam snorted and stepped through the doorway, observing Gary with a raised eyebrow, "How did you know I was there?"

"Oh please," Gary scoffed, "I could practically hear your outrage at the mess I made, not to mention that you're nowhere near as stealthy as you think you are." He had a weak smirk on his face and his words lacked bite.

"What were you doing out there Gary?" Sam asked as he pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and sat opposite his grandson. "There's meant to be a big storm coming in, and you've obviously been out there for a while."

Gary's eyes fell to the table, "I met up with someone at the park," he said vaguely, tracing the lines where the planks of wood joined to make the table.

"May I ask who you met?" Sam asked curiously, "And why you deemed it so important to meet now? Especially given the time and the weather?"

He sighed, "We met now because I honestly couldn't hold on to what I needed to say anymore. It was too important to me to leave any later."

Sam was confused, "You met Leaf just now?"

Gary laughed hollowly, "No, not Leaf."

"Ash?" Gary shook his head and Sam sighed in barely concealed frustration, "Who then?"

He looked up from the table to look his grandfather in the eye. "Misty," he said simply.

Comprehension and understanding washed over, "Ah, and how is she holding up through all of this?"

Gary shrugged nonchalantly, "She's… fine, I guess. I was told she and Ash parted amicably enough, not too sure on the finer details though. Seemed like she was doing alright."

"Is that all you and Misty talked about?"

"It wasn't what we talked about at all. I heard about everything from Brock."

Sam was nearing the end of his patience, "Then what was it? What couldn't wait until morning, or at least until an evening where it wasn't bucketing down like this?"

Gary groaned and slumped in his seat, "I don't really want to talk about it right now Gramps. You wouldn't get it anyway."

Sam let out a deep breath and decided to go for broke. "May I ask you something else then?"

"Shoot," said Gary tiredly.

"Why didn't you tell anyone about you and Misty?" he asked gently.

"What?" Gary's eyes shot up again looking slightly panicked.

Sam gave a small smile, "There's no need to be so alarmed Gary! To borrow your earlier words, you aren't as stealthy as you think you are either."

Gary sighed and ran his hand over his face, rubbing at his eyes, "How long have you known?

"I caught you and her a few times when you were together. I never said anything because I figured you'd come to me eventually, but you never did. Why was that? Were you ashamed?"

Gary groaned again and covered his face with his hands, "No, never. I could never have been ashamed of her. And I don't know why I never said anything! At the time it was just nice to have something just to ourselves, to be together with no expectations, no judgment, just us."

"Judgment?" Sam repeated, puzzled. "Who was going to judge you?"

"Everyone!" Gary all but exploded. "Pretty much since Ash and Misty met people were placing bets on how long it would take for them to get together! How the hell were people going to react when they found out she was with me instead? She would have copped it for not living up to everyone else's stupid expectations, and I would have copped it for apparently betraying Ash! It was easier, less to think about when we just kept it a secret."

"You don't really think that, do you?" Sam asked softly.

Gary barked a fake sounding laugh, "I don't think it, I know it."

"I can understand why you may have wanted to keep it to yourself," Sam began slowly. "But I don't understand why you never told me. Surely you know I'd never pass judgment or think poorly of either of you."

"Yeah, well," Gary tried a weak smirk, "I guess my mind was elsewhere at the time."

Sam tried a small smile, "It doesn't matter now. So, you were with Misty out there. What were you talking about that has you in such a state?"

Gary groaned and leaned forward until his forehead hit the table.

"Gary, I told you that I would never judge you, and from how you're acting, it seems like something you need to get off your chest. You don't need to be specific if you don't want to."

His hesitance was obvious as he sat back in his seat and rested his chin on his arms crossed on the table in front of him. "I guess you know why Misty and I… stopped; you were there after all."

Sam nodded slowly, "Ash, he kissed her."

"And she made no effort to stop it!" Gary spat, suddenly sitting back in the chair and rubbing at his neck. Taking deep breaths he continued, "After all… _that_ happened, it just, I don't know… it just wasn't! Like it never was, like we never existed, and I never got to say anything at the time. I just… I just took it! That isn't me at all! I should have made a bigger effort, or at least told people like you said, but no! Idiot that I am, I didn't! I let it go without a word, without a fight, without ever finding out why.

"I let it all out tonight," he admitted, looking up at his grandfather and meeting nothing but calm, understanding eyes, "I told her everything I've held onto for the past five years, how I felt, how she made me feel, how I still love her and how much that fact now pisses me off. There was probably more I wanted to say but just couldn't find the words, I was so angry. But at the same time, it feels like a giant weight has been lifted. I can't even begin to describe how much better I feel now that it's all out there."

Sam nodded, "It's been a long time coming," he agreed.

"I could barely look at her though. She was in tears; I've never made her cry before. I feel a little bad about that. And I think I saw her fall as I was leaving."

"She fell?" Sam repeated, alarmed.

"To the bench," Gary clarified. _I think._

"Well," Sam continued, not sounding particularly appeased as a vein in his cheek twitched, "I doubt you could have prevented her tears. It would have been a lot for her to hear if you indeed said everything that was on your mind." Sam stood and opened the fridge. "I assume you'll be staying for dinner then?"

Gary looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was seven o'clock. "You haven't eaten?"

"Professor, remember?" he replied with a chuckle. "I was holed up in the office and probably would have stayed there if you hadn't arrived."

"I'd like that," Gary smiled genuinely, "Dinner, I mean, and I guess I'll be staying a few days if that's alright, still not ready to go home since I'll have to burn the bed, the linens and anything else Ash and Leaf might have befouled when they screwed around in my house."

Sam cleared his throat awkwardly, "Yes, well… why don't you change into some dry clothes? I'm certain you still have some here. I'll get something ready. And you should know by now you don't have to ask if you want to stay here!"

Throwing a mock salute Gary stood and left the kitchen, his jeans still dripping a wet trail behind him. Sam continued to poke around in the fridge and cupboards, pulling out and assembling various ingredients on the counter.

"Did Misty leave when you did?" Sam called loudly as he heard Gary return a few minutes later, observing the rolling cloud out the window. "I do hope she's beating the storm back to Cerulean, the weather report earlier said it was going to go on all night out there."

"I'm not too sure," Gary replied as he reentered the kitchen in dry clothes. "She was still there when I left."

"You mean you just left her out there?" Sam asked as he turned quickly, dropping a knife to the floor, trying valiantly to keep the astonished disbelief from his tone. "Gary, you do realise there's a massive thunderstorm going on out there?"

"What? You don't think she would have gone home?"

"You said you saw her fall!"

"Yeah, back down to sit on the bench! She would have left by now, surely!"

"Gary," Sam began, rubbing his eyes, "From what you've explained, if she was in tears and falling and you didn't even see her leave, Misty probably isn't in the best state right now. Even if she could return home, she probably wouldn't be able to do so safely."

Gary looked outside the kitchen window and listened to the rumblings of thunder that sounded as though they came from right on top of them. "You really think she could still be out there?" he asked softly.

"I don't know," replied Sam, following Gary's line of sight. "But I think it's best if you at least go and check."

Not even waiting for another word Gary turned from the kitchen and strode determinedly out the door, paying no mind to the rain as he ran the path back down to the park. His heart thudded violently against his ribs as he thought of what he might find once he got there as overwhelming guilt began to course through his veins. Another deep rumble of thunder sounded overhead. He quickened his pace and prayed to whoever was listening for his grandfather to be wrong and for Misty to be safe.

**-XXX-**

It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. Hell, an entire day might have passed and Misty would have had absolutely no idea. All she knew was that she felt so cold and drenched to the bone that the rain felt like needles against her skin. She felt so sure she was going to pass out.

Gary's words had stung deep and made it difficult to breathe, but they weren't anything new for her to hear. In as many words Brock had told her many times just how deeply affected Gary had been by the nature of their breakup but it was so different hearing it straight from him, with all his bottled emotion on the subject intact. It seemed realer somehow and the guilt was crawling in her guts, eating Misty alive, threatening to burst forth in some sort of physical or emotional manifestation, her tears weren't quite doing the job anymore.

While Brock and others who felt they were intimately knowledgeable on the subject could rationalise her apparent attempts to keep Ash happy all they wanted, it wasn't a good enough excuse. It was hardly even a passable excuse. Now more than ever Misty knew her actions were wrong, cruel and downright despicable, and she felt lower than an Ekans' belly just thinking about it.

It would have been so easy! There were so many things she could have done differently that night to prevent the whole chain of events from even occurring. She could have pushed Ash away before he tried to kiss her, she could have allowed the move to somewhere more private as had happened and let him down gently in private. She could have even gone with Gary to the kitchen when he had offered her the drink or even stayed in that linen closet as he had initially wiggled him eyebrows in suggestion of. They could have come out together a disheveled and thoroughly kissed mess and their status as a couple would have been obvious to all that had eyes. Ash was a big boy; he would have gotten over it! Misty gripped the quickly tangling wet strands of her coppery locks and tugged harshly. _You are fucking stupid and a pathetic excuse for a human being!_

She considered heading over to Pewter City to see Brock but soon dismissed the thought from her mind. As much as she might like to have Brock pick over her thoughts and do the serious thinking for her again, this was something she desperately needed to work out on her own. There had to be something she could do for Gary, anything at all. There was no way she could carry around this guilt inside if her without doing anything to try and fix the situation.

She knew what she wanted to do, but wasn't sure it was even a viable option. The past five years up until this very moment left her with little doubt that she ever stopped loving Gary. Even though neither of them had ever directly admitted it at the time, she loved him, and apparently he loved her too.

"_I still want you, and I never stopped loving you_"he had told her_._The confession absolutely threw her; not once in her wildest dreams did she ever think Gary would ever harbour even remotely romantic feelings for her ever again. To hear he still loved her was both a rush of fierce joy and a crushing blow.

She felt herself tiring but tried determinedly to keep her eyes open. She had been sitting out there for what felt like hours, the rain ironically permeating every layer of clothing she wore as protection from the biting cold. More quickly than she intended, Misty leapt to her feet, regretting it with every fiber of her being as white spots flooded her vision and she felt herself begin to sway. She lifted her hands to her face and watched with lidded eyes as they shook violently. Before long she felt every ounce of strength drain from her body as she fainted, landing on the soaking grass with a soft thud.

"Misty?" a voice yelled over the rain, "Misty? Are you still out here?" Gary stood at the gates of the park, squinting through the rain and darkness for some indication that Misty had stayed or left though he wasn't entirely sure which scenario would be preferable. If she had left she would have had to contend with the storm, not an easy feat no matter your means of transportation. If she had stayed however...

A particularly bright flash of lightning illuminated the grounds of the park for the split second Gary needed. He felt his heart sink to somewhere around his knees as he thankfully stood perfectly placed to see a quick glimpse Misty's fiery red hair as she lay unconscious on the ground.

He slipped on the wet grass as he ran quickly towards her, feeling that his fastest pace would never quite be fast enough. He fell to his knees by her side, reaching to her neck and heaving a deep sigh of relief when he felt a weak pulse. He quickly glanced her over; she looked pale as death, her whiteness almost glowing in the night, and her skin felt like ice beneath his fingers. Breathing heavily Gary wrapped his arms around her and lifted her to him. He struggled under the weight of her soaked layers of clothing but felt determined to share even a little of his body heat with her; she felt so damn cold. Adjusting her in his arms he quickly and carefully began to run back to the mansion, the guilt for simply leaving her out there bubbling dangerously in his stomach.

**-XXX-**

"Ugh! This is all so hard!" Leaf wailed as she burst into tears, sweeping a pile of pamphlets from the coffee table in front of her to the floor with a dramatic flourish.

Ash dutifully rushed to her side and squeezed her hand sympathetically. The admittedly minor stresses of the past few weeks had begun to catch up with Leaf, trivial inconveniences blown to astronomical proportions when her (though he'd never admit it to her out loud) crazy pregnancy hormones were factored in.

After being told the week prior by Professor Oak that they couldn't marry on the Oak estate and that he wouldn't be able to officiate their wedding, Leaf had begun to panic. Admittedly Ash had never been particularly optimistic that they would be able to marry there in the first place and felt incredibly awkward bringing it up to the older man. Blood being thicker than water, the Professor was far more likely to factor into the equation how such a thing would affect Gary, particularly when how everything happened to get to this point was considered. Of bloody course the Professor wasn't going to let the woman who cheated on his grandson, and the man she cheated with, marry on his grounds!

It didn't matter how many times, or how many different ways Ash tried to explain this to Leaf, it never seemed to reach any higher, rational part of her brain. He was sure under different circumstances she would be more understanding of the situation, but at close to four months and with her pregnancy hormones in full tilt it was becoming far more difficult to reason with her. It took every bit of diplomatic instinct Ash could muster to convince Leaf to start looking for a new venue to have their wedding.

He was just about to give up and suggest they simply head to Saffron City and catch the train to Goldenrod where they could elope and marry quickly when Leaf shocked him as she stared at him resolutely, as though the message Ash had been trying to drive home for the past few days finally got through. In the space of about fifteen minutes Leaf had called every venue she could think of that would be capable of hosting a wedding and requested information packs from each of them, all of which arrived in the mailbox the next day in a large, thick wad.

It took another three days before Leaf began to look through her brochures. Ash believed something deep inside of her was still hoping the Professor might change his mind and allow them to marry on his grounds, and that perhaps that might mean some degree of forgiveness for what had happened. Though she was the very picture of outward confidence, the fallout from their affair, how it was affecting those around them and the scrutiny coming at her from all sides by those she deemed friends and family was making Leaf incredibly insecure.

"It can't be that bad," Ash said as he rubbed her arm soothingly. He picked up a brochure from the floor and glanced over it before handing it over to her. "See, this one looks nice!"

Leaf gave it one look before she began to wail even louder, "They don't even have change rooms! Where would I put on my dress Ash?"

"I don't know," Ash said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I suppose you could always put it on before you get there?"

"But then I'd muss myself up getting in the car!" she cried. "If I could change and get ready there then I know I'd be perfect when I walk down the aisle!"

"But you'd look perfect anyway!" Ash argued but from the look in her eyes he knew it was futile. "And besides, it's not like there wouldn't be a mirror somewhere where you could double check everything!"

"You really think I'd look perfect?" Leaf asked with sparkling eyes.

"Of course you would! All brides look beautiful!" Ash declared with a grin.

Leaf sniffed pitifully as Ash picked up another brochure. "How about this one?" he said as he read it over. "It's in Celadon, and oh! In a giant garden that Erika maintains! It looks really pretty."

"Too big," Leaf muttered. "You know as well as I do we aren't going to get many guests."

"You may have a point there," Ash conceded with a grimace. "It doesn't look like there's anything smaller though."

"I want a proper wedding Ash," Leaf turned to face him properly with tears still glistening in her eyes. "I know you're thinking of eloping and having one of those stupid quickie weddings they have ads on TV for from time to time, but I don't want that."

Ash nodded both to agree and to placate the upset woman, "I know, me too. We'll just have to keep looking, there's bound to be somewhere, even if we have to travel."

"We don't have much time," Leaf said nervously as she stroked the just visible swell of her stomach.

"We'll find something," Ash said encouragingly as he wound an arm around her shoulders. "Although, does it really need to be at an actual venue? The park down the street is nice, and you'd be able to get ready here and you wouldn't muss yourself up or anything. We could just hire a celebrant and have as many chairs as we need, and-"

"If we can't think of anything else, we can do that," Leaf said with a small smile. "But I'd still like to try and find somewhere indoors before I agree to marry you in the company of bugs and spiders."

Ash laughed, "Fine, let's keeps looking."

They sat side by side in comfortable silence, thumbing through the many brochures to little success. He felt Leaf beside him twitch and wriggle in place as she read. Ash supposed it was the brides' prerogative to be somewhat picky with the venue and everything else in relation to their big day, but this was ridiculous! There seemed to be something wrong with everything! Ash failed to see how a lack of skylights was going to affect the ceremony.

"Because there won't be any light on me when I'm reciting my vows, making my hair look shiny!" Leaf had explained as though it were the most perfectly reasonable explanation ever.

He was in the middle of reading a blurb about a hotel in nearby Viridian that offered themed weddings ("Tacky, Ash! Themed weddings are just plain tacky!") when he saw Leaf leap to her feet and begin to pace. She looked annoyed, frustration and her eyes were glazed over.

"Leaf?" Ash asked hesitantly, "Is something the matter?"

"Ash, before this," she gestured to the pamphlets on the ground, "and these stupid hormones drive me completely and utterly insane, I need you."

"Uh, Leaf? I'm right here."

"No Ash, I _need_ you." Without even bothering to wait for a reply she began to unbutton her blouse and threw it from her shoulders, leaving her clad in a plain, white cotton bra and her stretchy pants that fitted snugly around her barely burgeoning belly. She stared at Ash for a moment, her eyes hooded with lust, before moving to straddle him on the sofa, peppering his face with fast, desperate kisses.

Ash's mind still hadn't quite caught up but he responded eagerly to her touch and held her face still to press his lips to hers. Since Leaf had first told him of her pregnancy there hadn't been much time for sex. They had been far too busy breaking the news and trying to explain themselves, all in between many, _many _doctors' appointments, simply not really being in the right frame of mind for it and beginning all these ridiculous wedding plans. Lifting her up and grabbing her legs to wrap around his waist he divested her of her bra and threw it behind them, paying no mind to where it landed. He moved them to the bedroom in a fit of giggles and placed her gently on the bed and moved over her, a gentle hand caressing her stomach as he continued to give her what she wanted, kissing her into a stupor.

Picking a venue could wait for now.

**-XXX-**

"Is she doing any better?" Sam asked concernedly as he leaned against the kitchen counter, watching Gary prepare a mug of hot chocolate.

He shrugged, "I guess so. She's had a hot shower and she's in front of the fire now so she should be starting to warm up a little."

Sam shook his head in disbelief, "Why on earth did you just leave her out there?"

"I didn't think she'd just stay out there!" Gary snapped, keeping his volume at a whisper. "Forgive me for assuming a person wouldn't willingly stay out there when the weather was like that!"

Internally however, his insides twisted with guilt. As he had walked away he had watched from the corner of his eye as Misty fell limply back to the stone bench, his damnable pride the only thing squashing the concern that had welled up like a volcano inside him, stopping him from turning back to her earlier.

Sam sighed, "Well, at least she's alright now."

"Yeah," Gary stirred the chocolate flakes into the warm milk aggressively, spilling droplets of the milk over the sides. "I just…" he groaned loudly, "I'm such an idiot! I saw she wasn't well and I walked away anyway!"

Sam clapped his grandson on the back, "You went back, that's the main thing."

Gary shook his head, "She collapsed in the pouring rain, now she's still so cold; I should have gone back earlier. I never thought that…"

"It doesn't matter now," said Sam firmly. "You went back for her, and she's dry, warm and safe now, that's all that matters. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and take her the drink!"

Raising an eyebrow at his grandfather but not replying further, Gary ventured out into the hallway and walked down towards the living room where Misty was sitting, the light of the roaring fire casting flickering shadows through the doorway. For a moment he stopped and took deep, calming breaths in and out, feeling his uneasiness begin to ebb slightly. He supposed nervousness might be a normal reaction to a situation like this; only an hour and half ago he had poured his soul out to the girl on the other side of the door and delivered to her what was a fairly stark reality, though he could never regret anything that had made him feel so light. Now in the aftermath of his many confessions she had remained out in a storm, collapsing only to be found cold as ice and unconscious.

"Are you feeling better?" Gary asked uncertainly as he finally stepped into the room and passed her the mug of hot chocolate.

Drawing a blanket tighter around herself, Misty continued to shiver despite the hot shower she had only minutes prior returned from and the impressive fire crackling in front of her. "A little," she said as she took the mug from his hands, her icy fingers brushing against his warm ones.

Slowly Gary took a seat at the opposite end of the sofa. For long, slow moving minutes silence prevailed as Gary stared at the flames licking at the wood, small twigs catching and igniting before burning out into ash, the effect of it almost hypnotic. The sound of Misty coughing and the clattering of the mug falling to the floor bought him forth from his reverie.

Standing up and moving to collect the fallen mug, Gary eyed Misty intently. "Are you alright?" he asked, sitting beside her.

Eyes watering and still spluttering, Misty nodded. "I'm fine; it just went down the wrong way."

Still observing her closely, Gary extended a tentative hand and gently rubbed circles on her upper back until the coughing fit dissipated. "I'm just going to take this back to the kitchen and get some paper towels to clean the mess, okay?"

Misty nodded again, wiping the tears that appeared in her eyes with the back of her hand. She listened to his jogging footstep as they disappeared down the hall, reappearing moments later with a handful of the towels and a wet cloth. He knelt in front of her, placing the towels over the spill to absorb the mess before pulling them away and wiping over the area with the cloth. Though they were mundane movements, nothing about them overly interesting to anyone in particular, Misty couldn't help but feel struck by him, the line of his muscular back and arms as he knelt over the floor, the flickering light of the flame lighting his hair to an almost cinnamon hue, the look on his handsome face one of easy concentration though something in his eyes looked troubled.

"I'll just go put these in the bin," he said suddenly, leaving the room empty and Misty to her thoughts again. She still felt incredibly cold, and she was beginning to feel drowsy. Tucking her legs under her she covered her body in the provided blanket until only her head was visible, seeking the warmth that would come with drawing her limbs even closer. Before long Misty felt her eyes begin to droop and she decided not to fight it any longer, lowering her head to the arm of the couch and allowing sleep to claim her as Gary's approaching footsteps became little more than a distant echo.

Gary stood in the doorway and had to fight a little smile. Misty always looked so childlike in sleep. Taking tentative steps closer he knelt in front of her, little more than two inches from her face, and studied her features closely. Her skin was pale and milky as it always was, but tonight was almost deathly in its paleness. Her eyes were slightly sunken and marred by dark circles underneath, slightly puffy from her earlier crying. Her lips were pale and chapped, downturned in a slight frown as she slept. In that moment he wondered if he would ever think of her as anything other than completely and utterly beautiful.

Sighing, he carefully disentangled her from the blanket and slid one arm under her knees, the other supporting her upper back as he made to carry her, silently gasping at how light she felt in his arms. When he carried her through the storm and back to the mansion she had been weighed down by the wet, thick layers she was wearing and the absolute lack of her wasn't at all obvious. In the past when he had held her like this she had always felt delicate and feminine, but never quite like this. Slowly, careful not to jostle her too much, he carried her down the hall and up the stairs to find a bed for her to sleep in for the night. Maneuvering himself so he had a hand free to turn the doorknob, he opened the door on the first guest room he came upon, right across the hall from his own room.

Using the thin sliver of light being cast through the partially open door from the hallway Gary carefully navigated himself to the large bed in the middle of the room, using his free hands once more to draw the covers back from the bed, depositing Misty into the encompassing warmth and softness and pulling the covers back over once more.

Sitting beside her, Gary sighed, reaching over to brush stray strands of hair behind her ear. He leaned in a pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, whispering a wish of sweet dreams before pulling back and rising to leave. He was almost to the doorway again when he heard her.

"Do you really still love me?" she asked sleepily, so quiet he wasn't sure he had heard her properly.

Gary stopped and sighed, his shoulders slumping dejectedly. "That's another conversation for another day Red." He turned to face her, watching as she looked at him with heavily lidded eyes, not sure if she even knew she spoke or even heard him speak. "Try and get some sleep." And with that he left the room, closing the door with a soft thud behind him.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

**AN:** Sorry if anyone was disappointed with the lack of Brock! He'll be here next time, I swear! While we're on that, does anyone want Suzie to be a seen character? I've been thinking about adding her to the rotation too but I'm not too sure yet. Let me know your thoughts!

I'm going to be away from the computer until next Monday (hence the slightly early update!) so the next update *might* be late. It probably wont, I type like a demon, but know that it's a slight possibility!

Leave a review if you can! I'm not ashamed to admit I've become something of an egotist since I began posting stories on here and I very much love being told how awesome my stuff is! You'd be amazed what a confidence booster it is!


	8. Consolation

G'day mates! It struck me that despite my nationality, I've never used an overly Aussie greeting (not that I ever use it in everyday conversation!) so there's one for you now! Sorry about the late update; this was a surprisingly difficult chapter to write, I was pretty busy with visiting my brother, a concert and a ballet and for a long time, procrastination reigned! As a result, this chapter is shorter than normal and somewhat weak, just another filler chapter to introduce a new angle and another 'explanation' conversation to stretch it out to a decent size. Don't worry; it'll get interesting again soon enough :)

This chapter is dedicated to '**themadesthatter86**' for being reviewer number 50! Thanks a bundle :)

**DISCLAIMER: **You know the drill here people. I don't own Pokémon and the odds are long at best that I ever will.

'To The Happy Couple'

Chapter 8: 'Consolation'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

Suzie liked to think she was a good girlfriend to Brock. They shared similar interests, worked in the same field, they liked the same restaurants and they shared incredible chemistry where it counted. The only area where they really differed was with their friends. After disastrous attempts on both their parts to socialise in the past, Brock didn't associate with her friends, she didn't associate with his. This set up suited her just fine.

She sighed and took another long sip of her fizzy drink, sinking further into the sofa. Brock's friendship with Misty was a particular source of contention for them. Though Suzie had never said it in as many words, she had the lowest opinion of Misty it was possible to have.

From very early on in their relationship it was clear he was something of a counselor to all his friends. Often Brock was loaded up with so many secrets it actually seemed painful for him to keep it all to himself. In the beginning it wasn't difficult for her to coax Brock into telling her little bits and pieces. Quickly it turned into Brock pouring everything out without any prodding whatsoever. It became an almost cathartic experience for him to tell her everything.

By far the most fascinating to hear about was the collective mess of Ash, Leaf, Gary and Misty. While she wouldn't consider herself a gossip in the strictest sense since she never passed the information on, more than anything else Suzie very much looked forward to new developments with the quartet. Hell, their fucked up, intertwined love lives were more interesting to watch than the soap operas she watched with borderline religious devotion!

Suzie and Gary had been friends since Gary decided to hang up his trainer hat and move into research like his grandfather. They met while she and the elder Oak were conducting experiments on selective breeding, trying to breed undesirable qualities out of otherwise normal Pokémon to very little avail at the time. Even though she was four years older than Gary, his maturity at the time impressed her and they remained friends, him eventually reuniting her with Brock many years after their first meeting. They began to grow apart, however, when Gary began seeing Misty.

Misty never left Brock's life. Ever since they first met they remained the best of friends, and it made Suzie sick. There were so many men in her life! Was it not obvious to all of them that they were all being strung along? Moving from Brock to Gary to Ash with who knows how many others in between, she really was a scarlet woman! A whore! Moving from man to man faster than she could change clothes! Suzie truly had no idea how Brock stood for having someone like that in his life.

Leaf was someone Suzie never really became particularly acquainted with. After the first try for a triple date between herself and Brock, Gary and Leaf and Ash and Misty went spectacularly up in smoke, there was no real reason for them to associate anymore. Now that the whole messy business of all their affairs had come to light, Suzie wasn't sure she wanted to know Leaf at all. She was no better than Misty and a bit of a bitch really, as she had gleaned from the silent half an hour spent in her presence.

Ash was a weedy little kid. Suzie never really liked him from the get go. Granted, he was only ten when they first met, hardly an age that lent itself to making a shining first impression, but still. He was without a doubt one of the most spectacularly stupid people she had ever had the bad fortune of meeting, though he did have her sympathies at being another man caught in Misty's crossfire. All in all, Suzie had to think Brock had pretty shitty taste in friends; a very good looking yet annoyingly mopey egotist, a slut who didn't know where or when to stop, an all-round bitch of a model and an exceptionally gullible moron.

Not that she had ever mentioned these things to Brock again, of course.

There had only been one instance over the duration of their seven year relationship that Suzie had opened her mouth on the subject, and it had resulted in her having to find a hotel room to stay in for the night. Brock had been absolutely livid and incredibly offended when Suzie called his intelligence and taste in friends into question. It had taken weeks for them to get back to where they were but some degree of damage had been done and would always remain.

They had been together for a little over three years and at that point the friction between the group of them was at its highest; Gary and Misty had been split for about a year and were as woefully lost and depressed as ever, Ash and Leaf were stupidly blind, and as usual Brock might as well have hung a placard around his neck that loudly proclaimed 'Tell Me Your Problems!'. It had been a night after too much drinking that Suzie found the courage, if that was what one called it, to tell him these things. Suffice it to say after seeing Brock so angry, she never mentioned it again, however the urge to let it out and finally not have to hold back and lie and pretend she loved his friends when in fact she hated them all with a fiery, burning passion was steadily becoming more and more tempting, and she knew she wouldn't be able to hold back much longer, even if it did come at the expense of her admittedly tense and shaky relationship.

"Do you think I should call her?" Brock asked from behind her, jarring her from her thoughts.

Suzie leaned forward and placed her glass on the table, shuffling in place on the couch as she turned to face him. "Call her? Should I be concerned?" she asked jokingly.

Brock chuckled, "I meant Misty. I thought she'd come over last night but she never did, and with that storm… I just want to know if she's alright, make sure she didn't crash on the way here or something."

_Ah, Misty. Again._ Suzie fixed a tight smile to her face and reached for his hand. "I'm sure she's fine. You know what she's like. She probably just decided not to come after all and forgot to call you."

"Yeah, but…" Brock looked outside the window. The storm had passed but the heavy rain and the dreary grey sky remained. "She was with Gary last night and I think they finally had the talk."

"Ooh!" Suzie pulled Brock around to sit next to her on the couch. She snuggled into his side, resting her head on his chest. "Tell me all about it!"

Brock laughed again and ran his hand through her hair. "I can't tell you anything until I've talked to one of them! I don't know what's happened."

Suzie feigned a pout, "Then I suppose you should give her a call then, find out what happened."

He grinned at her, "Thanks. I'll be back in a minute." Pressing a quick kiss to her head Brock stood back up and left the room.

As soon as he was out of earshot Suzie sighed in annoyance. It was always frickin' Misty Misty Misty! How the hell did that little girl have such a strong hold over him? God, was she cheating with Brock too? Was that why she and Brock weren't married yet?

She listened absently to the telltale beeps of the phone in the other room, resenting each press of the buttons a little bit more each time he keyed in a new number, brooding silently with thoughts she subconsciously knew were stupid and unrealistic. After all, she was bound to know by now if Brock was cheating on her; he wasn't a very good liar.

An urgent sounding knock on the door drew her from her thoughts. "Do you mind getting that?" Brock yelled from the other room. He sounded agitated and impatient, and immediately Suzie heard the beeping of the phone buttons once more.

Shrugging to herself Suzie stood from the sofa and made her way to the front door. She opened it just as the person on the other side began knocking again; she wasn't at all surprised to see Gary Oak standing on the other side.

"Uh, hi Suzie," Gary greeted apprehensively as she looked at him expectantly. "Is Brock around? I need to talk to him."

_Of frickin' course you do. _"He's just in the other room, making a call." She stood to the side to allow Gary space to walk in. "He won't be a moment."

Nodding politely Gary moved through the door, followed closely by Suzie, and sat down to wait for Brock. Suzie took her seat on the sofa opposite Gary, her leg bouncing excitedly but she kept her mouth shut. It was strange to be sitting with him like this though; she and Gary had been good friends in the past, it seemed odd to behave as anything else but whatever sort of relationship they might have had in the past had long dissolved since his involvement with Misty.

"How have you been?" Gary asked suddenly, breaking the almost suffocating silence.

"Not too bad I suppose," she replied warily. "What did you want Brock for?"

"Just to talk," he answered evasively.

"About Misty?"

He looked up at her with a fierce, almost protective glint in his eyes, "Yes, what of it?"

"Nothing, just curious," she muttered, picking at loose threads on the sleeve of her jacket. "Brock's been trying to call her. Thinks something might be up."

"That's not going to work," Gary said more to himself than to her as he stood to find Brock. "She's at the lab."

"Oh? Spent the night, did she?" Suzie asked breezily as she examined her fingernails. "Surprised you'd actually let her in again, after everything."

"Shut up Suzie," said Gary darkly as he left the room. "As usual you have no idea what you're on about."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" she asked indignantly before he could leave.

"It means I know exactly how you feel about Misty, and how you feel about me now for that matter, and trust me on this; you know nothing about either of us." Without another word he disappeared, leaving Suzie to sit there with her mouth gaping.

Regrouping quickly, she desperately craned her neck to listen to the conversation in the other room. She only caught brief snatches, two or three words at a time that on their own made no sense at all. She relaxed her posture when Gary and Brock reentered the room and sat back down, Brock looking somewhat confused as Gary explained the situation calmly, both plainly ignoring the fact that she was still there and watching them carefully.

"So let me get this straight," Brock began to tick everything off on his fingers. "You and Misty talked last night?"

"Yes."

"And it was pretty… heated?"

"That would be the polite way of saying it, yes."

"The storm came and you both stayed out in it, but you left her there, but not before you told her you still loved her?"

"Sounds about right."

"You went back to the lab, talked it over with your grandfather who managed to convince you to go out and look for her?"

"Uh huh." Gary was rolling his eyes so vehemently by this point Suzie was surprised they didn't just recede back into his head.

"You found her out there, collapsed, freezing cold and unconscious, and brought her back to the lab with you where you had an, in your words, 'odd' moment before she fell asleep there. You picked her up and took her upstairs and put her in a bed and had another 'odd' moment, yes?"

"Right again."

"And she is still there now?"

"Last I checked, yes."

Brock let out a deep sigh of relief, "Thank God. I thought maybe she was lost in a ditch somewhere."

"Close but not quite," said Gary with a shaky laugh, "Just collapsed in a park, in the dark, in the rain."

Brock regarded Gary with a glower, "I should beat your arse for even leaving her out there to being with!"

Gary groaned, "I know, I know! God, isn't it enough that I feel this bad already?"

"Not quite," he reached over and punched Gary hard on his upper arm, watching with a satisfied smile as Gary yelped and quickly moved to clutch the area. "But that'll do for now."

"For now?" Gary moaned as he rubbed his quickly bruising arm, "What else do you have in mind for me?"

"All manner of torture and pain awaits you Gary," Brock replied with a smirk. "I'm pleased you guys had the chat, that was important, but you leaving her out there like that when you seemed to have known she wasn't coping too well-"

"I know, stupid and unforgiveable," Gary muttered grudgingly.

"I don't know, I'm sure she probably deserved it a little," Suzie murmured to herself, though apparently not quietly enough as Gary rounded on her angrily.

"Don't even start Suzie," Gary said in a warning tone.

"Start what?" she asked innocently, "I wasn't aware voicing my opinion was a punishable offence."

"No one gives a shit about your opinion!" Gary seethed.

"Hey!" Brock exclaimed, "Don't talk to her like that!"

"Oh, come off it Brock, don't defend her now! Misty's one of your best friends; you didn't take it last time she opened her mouth like this, why would you now?"

"Gary, calm down. I'm sure Suzie didn't mean it," Brock began tentatively, looking over at Suzie reproachfully. "Now, can you two please try and get along? I have to make another call. I'll get someone to come in and take over in the centre for the day, and I'll come back to Pallet with you."

"Fine by me," Gary replied with a shrug. "And I'm sure we can get along just fine," he said, fixing Suzie with a glare that Brock failed to notice.

"Good," Brock looked back and forth between them both before standing to leave the room again, "I won't be too long."

When Brock was gone, Suzie shook her head in disbelief, "Unbelievable."

"What is?" Gary drawled lazily, knowing exactly what her problem was.

"Why you both continue to associate with her and defend her is beyond my comprehension! It's like the little whore has cast a spell on you or something!"

"Whore?" Gary repeated with a hollow laugh, "I'm in love with that 'whore' as you call her; she is one of my best friends and nothing less than a sister to your boyfriend!"

"How the hell can you trust her? All she has ever done is string you along!" Suzie cried, "And not just you Gary, but Brock and Ash too, not to mention the legions of other men that must be waiting in the wings."

"'Legions of other men', Suzie?" Gary repeated with a quirked eyebrow. "God, you really have no clue, do you?"

"Misty doesn't deserve your friendship, love or anything else you have to offer!" she yelled, leaping to her feet suddenly. "Why do you and he both insist on this? All that little bitch has ever done is hurt you!"

"Be careful Suzie," Gary said warningly, standing to face her, "I might not be as accommodating as I was last time."

"Keep your voices down in there!" Brock called from the other room, "I can't hear our various employees reject me!"

Gary gave a humourless laugh, never taking his eyes off her. "So tell me, did you ever tell him about those chats we had all those years ago?"

"What difference would it have made?" she scoffed, "Besides, they weren't conversations he'd want to take part in. Why wouldn't you tell him?"

"I didn't think it was important," he shrugged, "I never paid any attention to what you said. All you ever did was insult Misty and spout off conspiracy theories which, granted, did have something to them in the end but really made you out to be nothing more than a vapid, conniving bitch. Plus we both know he'd drop you faster than a rabid Rattata if he knew what you really thought."

"Are you going to tell him?" she asked challengingly.

"I have a feeling he already knows," he regarded her with an odd, knowing smirk. "You know, he came to me after your first big fight about Misty, and you know as well as I do that you two never quite came to a conclusion on that front, and it's just been hanging in the air for years, waiting for something to ignite it once more." He leaned over until he was only inches from her face, "Your time here is limited sweetheart, you know it, I know it and deep down, Brock knows it too, and personally I can't wait for the day he sees you for what you truly are."

Suzie met his eyes defiantly, not wanting him to see that she knew he was right. "Then I guess I'll make the most of it."

Simultaneously they moved away from each other, both resuming their seats on their respective sofas. "I never said anything that wasn't true, though," she said, feeling the need to defend herself.

"You spouted bullshit and you know it," Gary scoffed. "Yes, Misty did hurt me, but you know nothing of her reasons or motivations and yet you made assumption after assumption and tried so hard to drive a wedge between her and I well before anything happened for reasons I can't even begin to fathom."

"Well, it was true!" retorted Suzie, crossing her arms across her chest defiantly. "Everything I said came true. The little slut did hurt you, and you were devastated as a result. How have you still not learned your lesson? How are you still in love with her?"

"I don't have to explain myself, least of all to you," Gary hissed in a low, dangerous tone. "And if I didn't know any better I'd say you were jealous of her; Misty has the unequivocal love of so many when all you've succeeded in doing is slowly driving everyone away. If you value your secrets, you won't ever try to speak to me again." Without another word or a glance back, Gary left the room, slamming the front door behind him as he left the house, leaving Suzie in the living room sitting in tense silence.

"Hey? Where'd Gary go?" Brock asked, emerging from the other room at last.

"He stepped outside," Suzie replied, her tone sounding somewhat shaky and uneasy to her ears.

Brock raised an eyebrow, "Anything to do with the argument you two took no care to keep quiet?"

She turned to face him, her expression flashing with horror and despair before disappearing to one of stoic, resigned indifference, "You heard all that?"

"No," Brock replied slowly, "Just raised voices." He moved to sit beside her, "What were you two arguing about?"

She shook her head and stood to meet him in the middle of the room, her arms wrapping around his waist. "Nothing important, just a little disagreement."

He gave a disbelieving smirk, "It didn't sound little."

She rolled her eyes playfully, "It was about breeding techniques. I see it one way, he sees it another."

He didn't appear to believe her; she wondered for a brief, horrible moment if he had in fact heard more than he was letting on. "He does get a little wound up when people don't see things his way," he said noncommittally. "Sarah will open up the centre in about an hour if you're heading in."

Suzie nodded and drew away from his embrace and watched as he grabbed his coat from the rack near the door and threw it around his shoulders, "I'll head in later, some of the newest hatchlings need to be checked on."

"I shouldn't be too long," he moved in again to gently press a kiss to her forehead. "I'll see you later."

She waved as he turned and opened the door and stepped out. From her spot in the living room she could see through the window Gary standing in the front yard, kicking pebbles across the wet grass as Brock made his way over. She watched them exchange words with a brief glance in her direction though neither of them saw her staring. Quickly they set off down the quiet street lined with similarly styled houses and disappeared out of sight, leaving Suzie alone with her suddenly overwhelming fears and doubts.

**-XXX-**

Misty smiled to herself; she felt as though she were floating in a sea of the most luxuriously soft clouds ensconced in the warmest and fluffiest of blankets. As loath as she was to ruin this lovely little world she had created for herself, she knew she had to open her eyes and face reality once more.

_This… this isn't right…_

It wasn't everyday Misty awoke to find herself in an unfamiliar bed, and a stunning four-poster bed complete with drapery at that. The look and feel of the room was vaguely familiar, like a dream she couldn't quite recall. The room itself was opulent, but understatedly so, obviously decorated by someone with exquisite taste. Clearly the room wasn't occupied by anyone; beautiful as it was, it lacked a personal touch, only containing the barest essentials. She recognised subtle little motifs around the room she seemed to know would carry on throughout the house, such as the ornate light fittings and door knobs. That was when it struck her, ironically, like a bolt of lightning; she was in the Oak mansion.

Little bits and pieces of the night before flooded back to her; she remembered quite vividly her encounter with Gary in the park and his outpouring of emotion to her, but beyond that everything was quite hazy. She remembered feeling cold, freezing really, then a period of absolute nothingness before suddenly feeling warm again. There was a short conversation, a fire, the sound of breaking ceramic, and there was Gary.

The only logical explanation she could come up with was that Gary came back to the park, though why he did she couldn't guess, found her and bought her back here.

Misty jumped as a knock sounded at the door. "Come in?" she croaked, clearing her throat in an effort to be rid of the rough texture of her voice.

She was startled to see Professor Oak standing in the doorway, balancing a tray with a glass of water and some breakfast in one hand. He smiled at her, eyes twinkling just as she remembered. "I trust you slept well?" he asked pleasantly.

"Um, yes, thank you…" she trailed off and ran a hand through her hair, her fingers getting stuck in the multitude of knots at the back. "How did I get here?"

"Gary," he said simply, placing the tray down on the bedside table and handing her the water, watching as she swallowed it in one, long, uninterrupted gulp. "With the storm last night, and Gary not knowing whether or not you had left the park, we decided he should probably check for you. Good thing he did too, otherwise you would have been out there all night." He said all of this with a gentle smile on his face.

She groaned and clutched a hand to her head. "I don't… we were talking, I remember that, but the rest is a bit… hazy I suppose."

"That's not surprising," he replied sympathetically. "You may very well have hit your head on the way down."

She felt around her head, wincing as her fingers came into contact with a lump she felt certain was also bruised and discoloured. "I think I might have done exactly that."

The Professor came to her side quickly, gently moving her hair away to inspect the damage. "It's a nasty bruise," he commented idly, "I have a few salves you could rub onto it. They'll reduce any swelling and it'll fade much faster. Or I can take you to a hospital if you'd prefer?"

She shook her head, "No, I'll be fine. We would have noticed by now if there was something wrong."

"Misty," he began tentatively, sitting at the foot of her bed, "I must admit that my reasons for coming up here to see you now aren't entirely altruistic."

She eyed him warily as she began to nibble at the food he brought her, "If it has anything to do with last night I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"Gary has already told me about the events of last night," he smirked slightly as she looked down to avoid his eyes. "Before I ask for your point of view on the matter I have a small confession to make; I am aware of yours and Gary's previous relationship, so please don't feel the need to hold back."

Gulping nervously she nodded, "I understand."

The Professor shifted in place as he thought through his words carefully, "I'd like to know what happened from your point of view. I know over the past few weeks you have explained this over and over again to everyone who wanted to know but I'd appreciate if you would tell me and if you'll have it, I'd like very much to offer my own opinion."

Taking a deep breath and in between bites of her food Misty relayed the story she had told numerous times over the past few weeks that had haunted her dreams at night. She appreciated immensely the fact that the Professor merely sat and listened impassively, his face showing no emotion and offering no immediate opinion on the topic that everyone she had talked to thus far had had something to say on. Brock required clarification every few sentences and had something to offer at every turn. Gary had listened without interruption but the look on his face was a distraction that drove her to tears. Ash talked it out but at the time her thoughts on the subject were sketchy at best. Now, after she felt like most of it had been worked out, to have someone simply sit and listen to her thoughts was incredibly therapeutic.

"Here is my main question for you Misty," he began a she finished, "Did you ever consider at the time that you may not have been ready for Gary?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, "We were together for almost a year, I don't see how that would have been an issue."

"True, but we both know how… hard-headed and passionate among other things Gary can be. For even the best of us, he can be difficult to handle. Did you ever consider that maybe a contributing factor to your going to Ash was his familiarity? The fact that you knew him so well?"

She was silent. That was something she hadn't considered in all the time she had spent thinking about it, but on so many levels it made perfect sense. Gary was arrogant, stubborn, and even on his good days difficult to reason with. At eighteen years old, and despite the love she knew she had for him, she was nowhere near well enough equipped to deal with someone like that when she was so young. "Ash was… simpler to be with than Gary, far simpler in fact. I suppose that does make sense."

He shifted closer to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I don't blame you for what happened, and neither does Gary," he told her with a small smile. "At the age you were, and presented with the factors that were in front of you, you did the one thing that felt even a little bit right at the time. I'm positive on some level Gary understands this, and he might even acknowledge that he wasn't ready for you then either," he added with a wink.

She nodded again contemplatively, remaining silent as she considered this new outlook.

"My thoughts are that the time you and Gary have spent apart has done you both a world of good, even if it has hurt you. It has given you time to truly think about what you want, and an opportunity to experience what life is like without the other in it. However you decide to look at it, you've both gained a different perspective and in my life and line of work, that's a good thing; the best thing."

"So you truly believe that what I did… was a good thing?" Misty asked softly, confused by this new line of thinking.

"That, my dear, really depends on your point of view. Personally I believe so, though perhaps a different method could have been employed at the time."

She had the good grace to blush at that last comment. "Words will never be able to express how sorry I am about how everything happened."

"I know you are, but finally we are in a good place to get things back to the way they should be," he encouraged gently.

"I don't know," she chewed apprehensively at her lower lip, "I'm still not sure if we're ready for that."

"Gary told you last night that he still loves you," he reminded her in a firm tone. "After everything you just told me I have little doubt that you still love him also. However, if you still don't feel ready, don't move until you are; I know Gary will wait however long he needs to."

Giving no thought to the consequences Misty moved from her place at the top of the bed to give the Professor a hug, squeezing with a firm pressure around his shoulders as she eventually felt his arms move around her middle. "Thank you for everything Professor."

"No need to thank me my dear," he replied with a small laugh as he pulled away. "I'm all too happy to help, especially where my grandson is concerned. And I think we've known each other long enough for you to call me Sam."

Her cheeks flushed again, "I don't know about that," she mumbled, pushing errant strands of hair back behind her ear. "I should probably get going," she said distractedly a moment later.

"Are you sure?" the Professor asked, puzzled by her sudden desire to leave.

"That Gym isn't going to run itself," she joked lightly, groaning and rolling her shoulders as she pushed herself out of the bed. "I've taken too much personal leave already, the League won't be too happy if I close the Gym again."

"Well, if you aren't going to change your mind, are you going to at least wait for Gary and get a lift back?"

"Gary isn't here?"

He shook his head. "He's gone to visit Brock but he shouldn't be too much longer."

"I'll be alright," she replied, stretching her arms out in front of her. "I'm feeling pretty good, I'll get back okay."

"Are you absolutely certain? Gary will probably want to talk to you again."

"I know," she agreed readily, "and I'll talk to him tonight or this weekend, but I really should be going now."

Deciding he wouldn't be able to convince the young woman to wait, he simply nodded and left the room to allow her to ready herself in peace. He took the empty plate and cup back downstairs with him, not having to wait more than ten minutes before Misty came down the stairs, hair still damp from her shower and her clothes wrinkled from having been slept in the previous night.

"Are you certain you won't stay?" he asked as she shyly entered the kitchen where he was washing some dishes.

She shook her head, "I really do need to get back." She slung her bag around her shoulder, readying herself to leave. "Thank you for letting me stay last night."

He waved her off dismissively, "No need to thank me."

"Could you thank Gary for me? For everything he did last night, I really appreciate it."

He looked behind her and smiled over her head. "Why don't you thank him yourself?"

Gasping as she felt a finger tap her on the shoulder she whirled around, coming face to face with Gary and Brock.

"Going somewhere Red?"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

**AN: **I know some of you might be disappointed with the way I chose to portray Suzie. Honestly, her character could have gone either way but since I opted not to heavily bash Ash and Leaf, as was the original premise of this story, I needed another character for everyone to focus their hate!

I've been making edits to some of the previous chapters. Nothing too drastic, just some cleaning up and such so if you are for whatever reason reading back on this story yes, it does look a little different!

Reviews are epic… but you already knew that ;)


	9. Mediation

Hi all! I've got another update for you all, so I hope you all enjoy :) I can't say I'm all that happy with this chapter, but it packs a bit of a punch as far as moving the story forward goes, and even has a couple of little EgoShippy moment so I'll let you guys be the judge!

**DISCLAIMER: **Nope. I don't think that requires further clarification. Just nope.

'To The Happy Couple'

Chapter 9: 'Mediation'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

"Going somewhere Red?" Gary asked, smirk firmly in place.

"Yes. Home." She replied through gritted teeth as she tried to barge her way past as Brock reached out and grabbed her elbow, effectively trapping her.

"No you're not, Misty." Brock said, shaking his head just as Gary opened his mouth to argue.

She growled deep in her throat, trying unsuccessfully to pull her arm back, "Yes, I am!"

"No, you're not."

"Yes I am!"

"No."

"Yes!"

As the pull and tug between Misty and Brock escalated ferociously and the childish back and forth continued, Gary made to walk towards his grandfather, who was still standing at the sink, watching the exchange between the three with an expression of amusement, only for Brock's other arm to shoot out and grip Gary's upper arm in a tight hold.

"You aren't going anywhere either Gary." Brock told him, shaking his head.

"What? Why the hell not?"

"I need you here for a little while." he replied with a slight shrug.

"You came to see Misty! What the hell do you need me for?" he asked heatedly as he too tried in vain to pull his arm back.

Brock shook his head with a grin, "I never said I came for Misty, I just said I was coming with you, because I wanted the two of you in one spot."

"What for?" Gary and Misty asked simultaneously, a hint of fear creeping into their voices.

"A talk." He held up a hand to stop the pair whose mouths had opened to argue, leaving them gaping comically like the clown games at the fair. "A proper talk, where you aren't yelling at each other or making outrageous declarations or leaving each other in storms. A talk that, until now, you appear to have been strangely incapable of having be it because of your prides or your egos or whatever else it may be, so you're having it now."

Both stopped struggling so Brock loosened his grip slightly but didn't relinquish his hold.

"Fine," Misty muttered rubbing her arm as best she could where Brock's hold had been tightest. "But this better not take long."

"It will take as long as it needs to take Misty," Brock stated with a hint of warning in his tone. "And come hell or high water, we will leave here today with some sort of acceptance or understanding between the two of you." He placed his hands on their upper backs and pushed them out of the kitchen and towards the staircase, intending to lead them somewhere quiet and private.

"Thank you Brock," Sam called after them, his lips quirked upwards in a small smile. "I don't know what they'd do without you."

"Waste away entirely, that's what!" he called back, laughing at their indignant huffs as he continued to push them up the stairs.

**-XXX-**

"You two are, without a doubt, the most baffling, stupid, confusing pair I have ever met in my life."

Misty and Gary sat side by side on his bed, only a foot of distance separating them as Brock stood before them with his arms crossed over his chest and a vaguely annoyed expression on his face, looking very much like a disappointed parent about to give his children a good scolding.

"Honestly, I have no idea why we waited so long to do this," he continued, pacing before them. "We should have done it right from the damn start but no! Misty just had to go get herself engaged and you Gary! You just had to jump on board with the first willing female you could find!" Brock tried not to feel too intimidated by the two pairs of angry, narrowed eyes focused upon him.

"I don't have time for this Brock," Misty said through clenched teeth. "You know what the League is like-"

"Come off it Misty," Brock scoffed. "It's not like they'll sack you for opening late! Who would they replace you with, huh?"

She muttered something neither man could hear and scowled at him.

"You could have told me this was your intention Rock boy," Gary drawled, regressing to the childish insults he used when he was younger.

Brock laughed, "Oh yes, you definitely would have let me come with you if you knew this was what I planned on doing."

He nodded in acquiesce, "True I probably wouldn't have, but you should know this much about me by now; I like direct, upfront honesty."

His tone had Misty shifting in place uncomfortably. While the comment was directed at Brock she knew it was aimed at her.

"Fair enough," Brock conceded. "I'm sorry if you think this is trickery, but I think it's important. Both of you are my best friends and you'll have to forgive me if I elect to pull out all the stops to set things right with the two of you again and I'm telling you now, this is my last ditch effort; I won't be doing something like this again."

Gary and Misty glanced at each other in shared annoyance at their friend and sighed before turning forward again and nodding.

"Good," Brock said, pacing up a storm in front of them. "Now, we are going to start at the very beginning. We are going to uproot everything you haven't thought about in years. We are going to leave no stone unturned and at the end everything will be out in the open. There will be no secrets, there will be no deception, no childish name calling, no interruptions. You will only be honest and unflinching and for the love of God, no one is going to cry."

The pair on the bed gulped audibly but nodded again despite their discomfort.

Together they worked through the whole sordid affair, new information coming to light at every turn making the other reconsider everything they had thought about any given situation, and random confessions both large and small making the other smile.

"The night of your twenty-first birthday, I didn't even want to go; I was a drink away from tearing you away from Ash and dragging you to the nearest bed, you looked so damn beautiful that night." Gary had admitted sheepishly.

"Seeing you with Leaf so soon after… _everything_," no one explicitly referred to what had happened between them unless it was absolutely necessary. "It broke my heart. Ash asked what was going on with me all the time; all I ever said was that I was missing someone."

"I wanted to kill Ash." Gary said seriously. "Still do, in fact."

"I'm actually kind of happy he cheated on me." Misty confessed. "Lord knows I wouldn't have backed out myself, I'm too damn proud."

"Even when I wanted to hate you, I never could. I was being honest when I said I never stopped loving you."

"I carry our three months, three weeks and two days anniversary with me everywhere I go." She admitted with a secret smile.

They spoke of their lives with Ash and Leaf respectively and (somewhat reluctantly on both their parts) shared with each other thoughts and feelings that plagued them in the past as Brock watched on, only offering his opinion and advice when needed.

"So in short, you two were happy together?" Brock asked when it felt like they were done airing out their past and ready to move on.

They regarded each other with small smiles. "Yes," they answered together.

"So, where did we go wrong here?"

"There were a lot of reasons now that I've had time to think about it and talk it over with so many different people," Misty said slowly, looking at Gary apprehensively. "We were pretty volatile together."

"So?" Gary said dismissively, "We had clashing personalities; we were bound to argue a little every now and then."

"But they were never little arguments! When we fought, we exploded!"

He nodded slowly with a small frown on his face, "I guess you're right there. You're more stubborn than a Tauros; the slightest thing could set you off."

"And you're more arrogant than should be humanly possible, scarily passionate in your work and in love, and try as I might I couldn't influence you in any way."

"So what are you saying here Misty?" Brock cut in.

"I'm saying that maybe, at eighteen years old, we were too young to be together. There were, and still are, aspects of ourselves that maybe we couldn't deal with until we had more experience."

"So now this makes Ash a conveniently placed excuse," Gary remarked with a slight scowl. "At this point we've reduced him to little more than a plaything, something to pass the time until you felt like you could handle me."

"Now you're just twisting my words. I love Ash as something more than a sibling, but less than a lover, and what I said before about my not being able to say no to him is true," she replied snappishly.

"Maybe so, but now we've got an entirely different spin on all this; this could have all been avoided if you had just talked to me in the first place! I would have listened, hell I was having the same sort of problems with you!" he spoke the last revelation with a small amount of wonder in his tone, as though he had never really considered her stubbornness and temperament to be the problems they were.

"This could also have been avoided if you hadn't stood there like a stunned Magikarp and just watched as Ash kissed me!" she retorted heatedly.

"And we probably could have avoided it too if you had made even the slightest effort to push him away!" Gary snapped.

"See! Now you're doing it again!" Brock cut in almost excitedly as he jumped back to his feet and resumed his pacing, "You both always look like you're about to make progress then something happens that not only stops you in your tracks, but forces you backwards! Gary, not a bloody week ago you were so determined to change things; what the hell happened?"

"You forced me to face things I hadn't really thought of at that point," Gary replied plainly. "I thought I wanted one thing and had to reconsider. Last night was the first night I really admitted to everything and I don't think I've made my peace with it just yet. I wasn't really angry before, but I am now."

"And you Misty? Last you told me you painted your house-"

"-You painted your house?" Gary cut in, asking with mild interest.

"Oh, yeah. It's a pale-"

"If we can get back on track, please?" Brock asked impatiently. "Misty, you painted your house, you said you wanted a fresh start; it seemed like you were making progress too, but I know you've stalled."

"My intentions haven't changed," Misty stated defiantly. "I still want that. But hearing Gary last night, and really understanding how easily this could have been avoided," she looked down and shook her head out of shame. "I might have felt the guilt before, but that was only a shadow to what it is now. It's more real, more tangible now-"

"So, what? You plan on wallowing some more, is that it?" Brock said challengingly.

"What? No!" Misty cried, "I just… it's out there now. I might have been able to ignore it before but I can't now, it's something I have to face."

"So you still haven't made peace with the decision you made five years ago and still haven't forgiven yourself?"

"Rationalise it however the hell you want Brock, I don't deserve forgiveness," she hissed.

"I forgave you years ago," Gary interjected softly.

"What?" Misty all but yelled, shocked by the admission. "Why would you? I might as well have stabbed you!"

"I didn't like what you did or why you did it and believe me I'm still pissed off, but on some level I do understand the reasons." He sighed and leaned back on his elbows on the bed. "You always had a heart that was too big for your own good Red."

A silent moment of acknowledgement passed between them as Gary's forgiveness washed over her, though it did nothing for the still overwhelming guilt which clenched at and twisted her stomach like a vice.

"And on top of all that," Brock continued with a tiny grin, "Gary, after last night, has found even more about himself to question. I suppose, what this really boils down to is this; after everything you guys have inflicted on yourselves and on each other, do you really even want to be a couple again?"

Both Gary and Misty looked at each other, each searching the others' face to find an answer. Eventually Gary looked away, shrugging noncommittally. "I don't know right now."

Brock stopped his pacing and faced them properly, an expression of contemplation on his features, "Look, I am going to give you guys ten minutes alone. I want you to sort everything out, without any outside interference, and I want a clear indication of what it is you both want when I come back." With that he left the room, closing the door behind him. Gary and Misty found themselves shifting uncomfortably, memories of previous times shared on this exact bed flooding them both.

Gary sighed, "I'm sorry about last night," he said after a long moment of silence.

"Don't be," Misty replied quietly, "You didn't know I was going to collapse."

"Yeah, but…" he trailed off, "I should have at least checked, and I definitely shouldn't have left you out in the storm like that."

"It doesn't matter anyway. I'm fine now."

"So… should we…?" he gestured the space between them idly.

She chewed her bottom lip nervously, "Yeah, I guess we should."

"I love you," he said bluntly, after long moments of running his hand through his hair, tugging at the strands and scratching at his neck. "I told you last night, it's not a secret."

"And I love you too," she whispered. "So where does that leave us now?"

He shrugged, "I honestly don't know. Is it enough though?"

She shook her head sadly, "I want it to be enough, but I don't think it is right now."

"You know, Brock was right." Gary remarked thoughtfully. "He told me once that if we ever got back together, it's not us 'getting back together' as such, it's a totally new relationship. We've been apart so long; anything we do is a fresh start, so maybe we're looking at this all wrong."

"Do you want a totally new relationship with me though?"

He hesitated, pondering his answer, "I think I do," he said honestly, "But I want more time. I don't exactly trust you like I once did Misty, as much as I hate to admit it."

"And I just don't think I've forgiven myself for what happened. I'm too guilty and I'd know it every time I looked at you. I'm not ready to give you what you need right now and I know if I did anything now you'd resent me for it."

"So what do we do now?"

She shrugged, "I suppose we just back off, leave each other alone and wait for something to give."

He nodded slowly, "Sounds like a plan."

"You know," Misty continued after the silence again became awkward, "Your grandfather told me he thought what happened between us was probably a good thing."

Gary snorted derisively, "I'm beginning to wonder if I should have the old man committed."

Despite herself Misty gave a small laugh, "In a weird sort of way I think he might have been right. I've seen what my life is like with you just being on the fringe Gary, and I didn't like it."

"Same," he replied softly, "To be so close and not able to do anything about it…"

"I know," she muttered. "But at least we know that; at this point I really don't care what capacity it is, I need you in my life Gary. I don't function right without you."

"So what do we do then?" he asked, taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers together. "If we aren't together and both need more time?"

She flashed a small smile, "We've waited five years, what's a little more?"

"Fair enough," he replied with a light chuckle. "So, how will we know?"

"I don't think that'll be a problem." She said, her smile widening. "When one of us is ready we'll find the other."

Silently he nodded, a smirk creeping onto his features as comprehension dawned; for now, they were simply waiting on each other. This was a situation he had never dared to hope he'd ever find himself in again, but now they were taking it one step at a time, confident in the knowledge that when they sought each other out again they would be completely, wholly ready for the other, ready for that incredible depth of feeling Gary hadn't felt in five years.

"Should I get Brock? Ask him to come back in?" Misty asked, jarring him from his thoughts.

He shook his head and shuffled closer, "Not yet. There's one thing I need from you first."

"Oh?" she responded, one eyebrow raised. "And what's that?"

The corners of his lips quirked upward in a brief flash of his usual confident smirk. "One for the road?"

With a light laugh she nodded, leaning forward ever so slightly as Gary met her halfway, their lips meeting in the middle in a soft, yet electrifying kiss, lasting only seconds before Gary pulled away, their breath mingling in the air between them as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I've missed that," he whispered with a small smirk.

"Me too," she whispered back, her eyes sparkling.

"I don't think it'll be too long."

She let out a sigh and rested her head in the crook of his neck as his arms wrapped around her shoulders, "Take all the time you need."

For how long they sat like that neither knew; time meant nothing as they simply used the opportunity to hold each other again. After some time Gary gently extricated himself from Misty's hold and ushered Brock back into the room who all but skipped in after him.

"So?" Brock questioned, looking between the two who he noticed were sitting much closer together now than they were when he left. "What did you decide?"

They looked at each other with small smiles on their faces. "We decided that we aren't there yet." Misty said.

"Aren't there yet?" Brock repeated slowly, "Meaning that you might be there in the future?"

Gary shrugged, smirking inwardly at the look on Brock's face. "Maybe," he replied cryptically.

"So what happens now then?"

"We wait," Misty provided.

Brock looked as though he wanted to interrogate them further, unanswered questions evident in his eyes. He sighed inaudibly, though his heaving shoulders gave him away. "Did you sort yourselves out at least?"

They exchanged another look and a wry grin, "I think we're on the same page now, yes." Gary affirmed.

Brock sighed and sunk down on the bed at Misty's side. "Good. I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to keep up playing therapist. I'm proud of you both."

"Well," Misty announced as she quickly jumped from the bed, smoothing the small wrinkles in her jeans. "If that's all, I really have to go now."

Brock rolled his eyes, "Must you be in such a hurry all the time?"

"Brock, I've stopped everything these past few weeks; I think my hurrying now is warranted."

"She's got a point Brock," Gary stood from his spot and stretched. "I should be getting to work too."

"Sticks in the mud," Brock muttered as his eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Realists, actually," Misty laughed, throwing a pillow at his head before sauntering out the door.

"Can't all go around calling in the reinforcements to take over whenever the fancy takes us," Gary said in a somber tone though the smirk on his face gave him away.

"What happened to the holier-than-thou Oak attitude?" Brock asked laughingly as they left the room and set off down the stairs.

"I think I left it in my desk, coincidentally also at work."

As they reached the foot of the stairs they saw Misty standing in front of the open door at the entrance. She offered a wave and a small smile at Gary before stepping out, closing the heavy, ornately decorated door behind her.

"How are you doing with her now?" Brock asked quietly as Gary craned his neck to see out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of Misty before she disappeared out of sight. "Feeling better?"

"I feel better right now than I have in years Brock, but I've still got a way to go yet."

"You'll be alright?"

"I'm pretty sure I can tackle this part myself." Gary smirked wryly.

"Pardon me for asking; I have five years' worth of evidence to the contrary!"

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Gary asked impatiently. "Anywhere would do, really."

Brock laughed again and started towards the door, "Actually yes; I have a visit to pay to someone down the road."

"Who else do you know in Pallet?" Gary's forehead wrinkled as he pondered the question. "Are you visiting Delia?"

"I'll tell you later," Brock assured him, his hand outstretched on the door knob. "Good luck Gary."

"Luck has nothing to do with it and it never has." Gary replied, smirk still firmly in place. "You've heard the rumours after all."

Brock burst out laughing again until tears of mirth ran down his cheeks. He opened the door and stepped out, wiping the tears with the back of his hand. "Indeed I have. Bye for now, Gary 'Motherfucking' Oak."

**-XXX-**

"Did you know that our baby has probably developed fingernails by now?"

Ash choked on his mouthful of water, coughing it back into the cup as Leaf continued to read from her pregnancy book, completely unfazed by his outburst. "Fingernails?" he spluttered.

She glanced up from her book with a raised eyebrow. "Yes Ash, fingernails. Most babies start developing them around the third or fourth month. It should also be developing hair and eyelids too."

He rubbed at the back of his neck nervously, "Does it, I don't know… claw at your insides now?"

Leaf looked at him in disbelief and shook her head slowly, "It's a baby Ash, not a zombie."

"Oh, um… yeah, right…" he mumbled, not sounding entirely convinced as bloody visions of a clawed baby slashing its way out of Leaf's belly flooded his mind. He shuddered visibly and took a seat at the table across from her, staring at the multitude of abandoned bridal magazines in front of him.

Ash could not even begin to describe how much the prospect of marrying Leaf was beginning to daunt him. Leaf was fussy, high maintenance, an alarming perfectionist and in the small time frame she had given them to get married she was becoming panicked and pushy. Ash had never put much stock in the term 'Bridezilla', believing it to be a term for men who had no humour about, or any input in, the process of planning a wedding, but he could certainly see how the term might apply to Leaf now; she was fast becoming an absolute nightmare, and words couldn't do justice to how grateful Ash was to see the magazines finally put down.

"So Ash, I was thinking…" Leaf started, stopping when she noticed that Ash's eyes were glazed over and he was staring into space. With an impatient sigh she clicked her fingers in front of his face, watching with a satisfied smile as he jumped and blinked in surprise.

"What?" he asked dumbly.

"I was thinking," she repeated slowly as though she were talking to a small child, "that maybe we should start thinking properly about the baby's room."

"But you're barely four months pregnant! More like three and a half!" Ash pointed out. "Isn't it a little early to start thinking about that?"

Leaf put the book down and tossed her long hair over her shoulders, "It's never too early."

"We don't even know what we're having!" Ash cried, resting his chin in his hands, "You told my mum you didn't want to start decorating or buying anything until we knew the gender!"

She shrugged, "I guess I changed my mind."

It took every ounce of self-control Ash possessed not to slam his head repeatedly against the table. Around Leaf he barely knew which way was up or even his own bloody name such was the frequency with which she changed her mind. Instead he laid his hands flat on the table, his own fingernails subtly raking against the wood. "So what did you have in mind?" he asked mildly.

"I was actually thinking a peachy sort of colour," she mused, her fingers pulling idly at the dust jacket of her book. "It doesn't seem too girly, does it?"

_It's a frickin' shade of pink! _"No, I guess not." He replied, having learned long ago to pick his battles with care.

"I figure if it's a boy we can always say it's a pale orange," she continued, "Or we can paint it again when we find out what we're having if want to change it or it doesn't feel right."

It was getting harder to tell if her pregnancy hormones were messing entirely with her brain or whether Leaf had successfully hidden for years how silly she was. "We're not _re_painting the baby's room," he said firmly. "There would be paint fumes and I doubt very much that's any good for the baby at all, plus it's just stupid to box yourself into potentially having to paint a room twice! Can't we just wait? We're nearly at the point where we can find out the gender, aren't we?"

"I didn't mean we'd paint it after I'd had the baby," she replied, sounding properly chastised. "I just want something to do! I'm starting to show," her hands strayed to her just visible stomach, "And the agency told me there was no need for maternity models right now… I'm going crazy Ash! I need something, _anything _to do."

"What about planning the wedding?" Ash asked, inwardly kicking himself as he did so, "Doesn't that take up a lot of time?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? But apparently Professor Oak isn't the only one who won't let us marry. A lot of other people are on board with that way of thinking too."

"What?" Ash yelled, knocking the table as he shot to his feet, "What the hell are you talking about? Why didn't you say anything?"

"The fact that you, Gary, Misty and myself are all somewhat famous doesn't exactly work in our favour," Leaf replied with a grimace, producing from her pile of bridal catalogues several gossip magazines, all featuring pictures of Ash and Leaf on their few ventures out in public along with what looked like old stock pictures of Gary and Misty under headlines which read 'Renowned Model Leaf Green Pregnant; Whose The Father?', 'Cheating Lovers Step Out; Baby Bump Pics Inside!', 'The Latest On The Ketchum-Waterflower-Green-Oak Saga' and 'Scorned Lovers Waterflower And Oak Licking Wounds Together? Turn To Page 12 For The Latest Photos'. With shaking hands Ash picked one up and thumbed through the pages until he came to the right article.

"This is bullshit!" he cried passionately, "This article makes us sound evil, and Gary and Misty don't come off too great either…" he continued to read, his lips forming the words but not the sounds. "We're traitorous adulterers… You got pregnant to trap Gary… I'm with you just to scorn Gary, my life-long rival… I left Misty because she's apparently a prudish whore and I couldn't take it anymore… Geez, these people don't like to look into the facts too much, do they? They're contradicting themselves at every turn!"

Leaf shrugged noncommittally, "Facts don't sell magazines. Gossip does."

"Do you think Gary and Misty have seen these?" Ash asked, not looking up from the glossy pages.

"I'm assuming the whole of Kanto has seen them, if the trouble I've been going through trying to plan our damn wedding is anything to go by."

"How long have you known about these?"

"The pictures have been out there since about a week after I broke up with Gary and you with Misty." She shuffled through the magazines and produced an older one featuring a grainy, long distance picture of Ash moving out of Misty's house and another of them both moving into Ash's old house. "They've only recently started with the baby talk."

"Would it…" Ash started, trailing off hesitantly, "Would it be worth giving an interview? Tell our side of the story?"

She shook her head. "I doubt it. Those interviewers are pros. They'll twist your words around so fast you won't even know what it was you were trying to say in the first place. Plus somehow I don't think Gary or Misty would appreciate us airing our dirty laundry for the world to see when they're such big parts of it."

"So we're just going to have to ride this crap out?" Ash asked incredulously.

"It'll die down eventually Ash," Leaf said soothingly, reaching across the table to cover his hand with hers. "Pretty soon we won't be the flavour of the month anymore and they'll leave us in peace."

"I hope you're right," he muttered, tossing the magazine back onto the table with a look of disdain.

"Of course I'm right; I'm a model, and I spent quite a few years as Gary Oak's girlfriend, I'm no stranger to the spotlight," she said with a wink, pushing her chair away from the table and leaving the kitchen, pregnancy book in hand.

Ash sat at the table a while longer, staring at the horrible magazines in front of him. He'd stopped paying attention to the gossip surrounding him years ago when he first started winning his tournaments. Journalists seemed so determined to sensationalise him, taking and twisting his life and accomplishments until they weren't even recognisable as his. He sighed, a hand moving to rub the back of his neck in a nervous gesture he'd carried all his life; he should have realised this was going to be a talked-about issue. Not just himself, but Leaf, Gary and Misty were all famous in their own rights and had been featured in the tabloids before, and the circumstances currently surrounding their lives would seem interesting to the outer world and would even qualify as 'news' to some.

There was a knock at the door. Curious, he wandered over to the door, pulling it open to reveal Brock on the threshold.

"Mind if I come in?" he asked.

"Oh, sure," Ash stood to the side to let Brock in. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, it's what you can do for Misty and Gary."

"What?" he asked, sounding surprised as he led Brock through the house and back to the kitchen where they sat back down. "What on earth could I possibly be able to do for them?"

Brock leaned forward, resting his chin in his hands. "There's a proposition I'd like to make, but it'll involve telling Leaf _everything_."

"Tell me what?" Leaf asked from the doorway. "What's going on?"

"Sit down Leaf," Brock said, waving in the direction of a seat for her. "It's a long story."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

**AN: **Sorry about the abrupt ending. I had to finish it there otherwise it would have gone on forever!We are getting towards the end of this one, probably only five or so chapters left. Woot!

Okay, explanation time; I've just started an online university enabling course which will be taking up some of my time from now until about the end of the year. This course will most likely affect the regularity of my updates, so wait time may be a tad longer but I promise I'm not putting this story on hold or anything like that, so don't worry, I'll still be plugging on :)

Every time someone leaves a review, a cockroach is stomped on. Or an angel gets its wings, whatever you prefer :)


	10. Solution

Hi all, sorry about the wait! My course is actually a bit more involved that I first thought so sadly the wait time will be the norm for the foreseeable future; however I am exceptionally pleased with this chapter, even if Misty and Gary aren't in it this time around! Anyway, on with the show!

**DISCLAIMER: **I own more Pokémon cards than I can reasonably manage, but my brother took my snazzy holographic ones, and my EX ones, and moved away with them. If I can't keep a handle on my own damn cards what makes anyone think I'm running a multi-million dollar company?

'To The Happy Couple'

Chapter 10: 'Solution'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

They sat around the kitchen table; the magazines and books that had previously occupied the space had been unceremoniously swept from the table and placed in neat stacks on the floor. In their place sat empty plates from their lunch and smoking mugs holding hot chocolate and marshmallows. Brock sipped at his mug, drawing the soft, semi-melted marshmallow into his mouth with a small moan of satisfaction at the taste as he relayed the sorrowful tale and caught Leaf up on everything that had happened over the past five years while she had remained blissfully unaware of the details.

"It was Misty?" Leaf repeated dumbly, her eyes wide and jaw dropped. "Really? It was _Misty _that Gary couldn't keep off his mind, the mysterious girlfriend he had before we got together?"

Brock nodded slowly. "Is that really so hard to believe?"

"But it's _Misty_!" Leaf jumped up and began to pace furiously. "Misty was with Ash and…" she quickly stopped pacing and sunk back down with a forlorn expression on her face. "God, Gary was so sad without her!"

"She was pretty sad without him too, trust me," Ash muttered.

"I just can't… she was always right there, you know? We did double date things all the time; I insisted, I made him see her over and over again and no bloody wonder he locked himself away whenever we came home from them!"

"Misty was the same," Ash said, looking over at Leaf as she rested her elbows on the table and held her face in her hands, comically pulling back the skin around her eyes. "She never seemed to enjoy them very much either."

"I knew he hated them! I never asked why, I made him come anyway… I noticed once, how they stole glances when they thought no one was looking," she looked up at Brock with tears shining in her eyes. "I didn't think much of it then, but they _missed_ each other Brock! It's so sad!" She began to sob earnestly as Ash reached over and patted her gingerly on the back. Brock watched on awkwardly, not entirely sure what to do with a sad, hormonal pregnant woman.

"What happened with them anyway?" Leaf asked as she wiped the tears away with a tissue. "If they loved each other so much then why weren't they together? Why were they with us?"

Brock and Ash looked at each other and exchanged a look, silently asking just how much they should share with her.

"It was sort of my fault," Ash mumbled lowly to which Leaf uttered a small, horrified gasp.

Brock shook his head, "I don't know about _that_."

"But it really sort of was! Misty never would have left Gary if I hadn't kissed her!"

"Misty's a big girl though," Brock pointed out. "She made her own decisions."

"Wait, wait." Leaf held up her hands, silencing the two men, "Start at the beginning. Ash, you kissed her?"

Ash nodded, "It was at a party my mum threw when I came back home to stay. I kissed Misty, in front of everyone and took her back to my room. I found out a few years later that she actually came to that party with Gary." He hung his head, staring at his hands folded on his lap.

"So… what happened then?"

"I kind of took Misty away for a few days," Ash said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess Gary thought she left him willingly. I was so happy to see her again, I'd wanted her for as long as I could remember," he shook his head. "I could only see what I wanted to see."

"Misty would do anything for you Ash, you're her best friend." Brock told him. "She made her choice too. If you're so sure you want to take some of the blame then at least share it."

"Well, what about Gary then?" Leaf asked quietly. "He didn't do anything? He didn't even try?"

"He thought Misty wanted to be with Ash," Brock explained with a shrug. "He wasn't about to interfere with it if it was what she wanted. He loved her enough to let her go."

She shook her head, "So what was I? Did Gary love me at all?"

Brock sighed, "In his own way, I really think he did but honestly Leaf? I don't think it was ever a romantic love. You were…" he trailed off, choosing his words carefully. "You were what he needed at the time."

"Because he couldn't have the girl he truly loved…" she said softly as her eyes became misty again, fresh tears falling in hot, salty rivulets down her pale cheeks. "He thought the girl he loved didn't love him, so he came to me, but she really did love him too and… _It's just so sad!"_ she wailed melodramatically.

"If it makes you feel better Leaf, they've been talking again," Brock told her kindly though she wasn't able to hear him over her sobs.

"They have?" Ash asked with mild interest. "Are they together again?"

"You'd be alright with that?" Brock asked, surprised.

Ash shrugged. "Of course I would. God, we've all done enough to each other already, if Gary and Misty can have a happy ending like we have," he gestured between himself and Leaf who was still sniffing pitifully. "Then they should. Misty doesn't deserve anything less, and I guess Gary's earned it too."

Brock smiled and shook his head. "No, they aren't together. Not right now anyway, that's sort of what I wanted to talk to you guys about."

"I'm not too sure what it is you think we can do for them Brock," Ash said as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. "But I'll do whatever I can to help them."

Leaf sniffed again and nodded, "I'll help too," she added wetly.

"Alright, I know this might sound weird, but I want you to hear me out, okay?" At their nods of assent Brock took a deep breath and continued. "How much thought have you two put into your wedding?"

Ash cocked his head in confusion. "Not…" he looked over at Leaf who was rolling her damp eyes, "Not a whole lot actually."

Brock quirked an eyebrow at them, "I thought you guys were shooting for a wedding before the baby came. If you haven't done anything yet then you're going to be pushing it."

"I know! It's just that we can't find anyone willing to marry us!" Ash reached down through the stacks of magazines on the floor and produced the pile of ugly gossip magazines. "People hate us! No one wants to marry a pair of adulterers apparently."

Brock stared down at the magazines in wonder and disgust; it always amazed him just how much journalists could get away with. "Not even the Professor?" he asked, not taking his eyes from the covers.

Ash shook his head. "Not even the Professor, not that I blame him really."

"This stuff can't possibly be big news in other regions," Brock said dismissively. "Why not get married in Johto? There's a big flower festival being held in Azalea Town in about two months. It's really quite pretty; I'm sure you could find someone to marry you there where you could remain fairly anonymous."

"We'll keep it in mind, but we're getting off track here," said Leaf with a wave of her hand. "What can we do for Gary and Misty?"

"It was to do with your wedding," Brock muttered, "No use bringing it up now if you guys haven't made any plans yet."

"To do with our wedding?" Ash repeated slowly. "What on earth are you on about? How would that help Gary and Misty?"

"I was going to ask if you guys had given any thought to your Best Man and Maid of Honour yet."

Ash's eyes widened in disbelief, "You cannot seriously be suggesting what I think you're suggesting."

"Why not?" Brock asked.

"Because… because it's ridiculous is what it is!" Ash exclaimed. "Why on earth would we give Gary and Misty a front row seat to watch Leaf and I getting married? That's sick! Who invites their failed relationship to come watch their successful one?"

"Hold on Ash, it actually makes a little bit of sense," Leaf said softly, her expression contemplative.

"Look," Brock leaned his forearms on the table and sunk forward. "Gary and Misty have been talking; they don't feel ready to get back together right now, they need some time to sort themselves out and if I know them at all I know they'll avoid each other until the last possible moment."

"So you want to give them a reason to meet?" Leaf deduced happily, "In a romantic setting where they'll both look nice and pretty?" She started sniffing again, "That would be so lovely!"

"Even if it was a good idea, which it _isn't_," he looked pointedly at Brock, "I could never get Gary to agree to be my Best Man; the guy hates me, and quite rightly too."

"I know that, but I wasn't suggesting you ask Gary." At Ash's incredulous look Brock scoffed. "There is nothing explicitly said in the wedding rule book that your Best Man absolutely, positively has to be a man, you know!"

"It's in the title, in the bloody job description!" Ash cried, standing and beginning to pace. "I hate to say it Brock, but I think you've snapped."

"What's so hard to comprehend Ash? Regardless of what happened between you guys, you and Misty will always be best friends. The friendship you guys have is actually pretty incredible and if nothing else, I'd say that more than qualifies her to do this for you." He shot Ash a small smirk before turning serious. "I don't think I could think of anyone better to be your Best Man, or perhaps Best Woman might be more appropriate."

"Not even you?" Ash challenged.

"Not even me," Brock replied smoothly. "You're a great friend Ash, but even I know it doesn't compare to the friendship you and Misty have."

Ash sighed and sunk back down, "That's probably true," he conceded.

"I suppose Gary could be my 'Man of Honour'," Leaf mused before blowing lightly on her hot chocolate. "I'll always love him as a friend, one of my first friends really. I'd love it if he could be there for me, in spite of everything."

"What exactly is your reason though Brock?" Ash asked, eyeing him skeptically. "I find it hard to believe that you just think the atmosphere would be enough to get them back together."

"It's partly that; it's also partly because it's you and Leaf getting married and closing the door on what was a pretty tumultuous part of your lives. Even if Gary and Misty weren't teetering on some weird brink I'd think they should come and watch anyway so you could all move on properly. But as Leaf said there's also the bonus of them both being dressed in formal wear which I know neither of them can resist." Brock shuddered inwardly at the memory of occupying a hotel room across the hall from the pair many League balls ago where the walls were thin and no regard for the other guests was to be found.

"I suppose that does make a little bit of sense," Ash remarked ponderingly. "But I don't really see how you think you'll get them to agree."

Brock held up his hands and allowed a smirk to grace his features. "It's not me who'll be doing the convincing."

Ash quirked an eyebrow, "Do you honestly think they're ready to see us again? It hasn't been that long."

Brock let out a bark of laughter, "Someone thinks very highly of himself! Ash, they were never not okay with seeing the two of you. They understand what happened and why, there was really no reason for you and Leaf to shut yourselves away like this!"

Ash and Leaf exchanged a sheepish glance, "So Gary doesn't want to smash my face?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh no, he does and likely always will," Brock replied flippantly, as though threats of violence against his friends wasn't that big a deal. "But Misty never had a problem with either or you, and Gary certainly doesn't hate Leaf in all this. If you're worried they're so fragile that they'll fall to pieces on seeing you again then you're wrong. Sure, they were a little bitter at the beginning but they're quite over it now."

Leaf sighed, "I guess we overreacted a little bit, running off like that without a word."

Ash shrugged, "What were we supposed to think? We cheated on them and got pregnant in the process. Can't blame us for not thinking they'd take it so well."

"Either way Ash, you can't avoid them forever," Brock pointed out. "And you probably do owe Gary a conversation and an apology."

"Yeah," Ash deadpanned, "That's a great idea, let's lock me in a room with Gary Oak when I have done nothing but wrong the guy at every bloody turn. Fantastic idea Brock, I'll go grab my coat."

"I think it's a great idea!" Leaf chirped happily, "You can come with me when I ask him to our wedding and you can talk to him then!"

"Leaf, honey, I was being sarcastic."

"You did tell me you thought you owed him an apology," Brock reminded him.

Ash turned to his fiancée and regarded her with wide, pleading eyes. "Leaf, do you really want our kid to grow up without a Dad?"

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic!" she replied dismissively as Ash and Brock exchanged an incredulous look at the audacity of Leaf to tell anyone not to be melodramatic. "Really, I'll be right there; what's the worst he could do?"

"Beat me to a bloody pulp as you watch?" he muttered under his breath.

"I'll go with you when you see Misty?" she wheedled.

"That's fine for you!" Ash cried. "Misty doesn't want you dead! And I'm not even scared to see her anyway!"

"Ash, no one's going to let Gary kill you, alright?" Brock sighed and ran a hand down his face in frustration. "And besides, it's not like I'm explicitly telling you two to do any of these things, they're only suggestions."

"But they're good suggestions!" Leaf said with an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "And while I don't know if they'll want to be involved in our wedding, I'd love to have them there. As you say Brock, it'd be a great sense of closure for all of us, and anything that means Gary and Misty getting back together quicker has to be a good thing!"

"A bit of a hopeless romantic, aren't you Leaf?" Brock remarked with amusement.

Ash shook his head as Leaf's eyes took a distant, glazed look that meant she was firmly planted in another world entirely. He waved a hand in front of her face to be sure there'd be no reaction before continuing. "That's fairly new actually. The other day we were watching TV, and you know that add where there's that girl and a guy at a lake, and they're sharing a bag of chips? And the girl distracts the guy with the chips long enough to make off with his motorbike? She cried over that. It was a potato chip ad where some random girl steals some random guys' motorbike, and Leaf bloody cried over it! Said it was a terribly thing to do, and that it was so sad and that the guy must have been heartbroken!"

Brock cringed, "How are you holding up on that front, by the way?"

Ash let out a deep sigh and continued in a harsh whisper, "She's so fricking hormonal I can barely keep up Brock! One minute she's crying like she was before, then she's screaming at me for leaving a spoon in the sink, a spoon I used to mix some honey through her damn tea, thank you very much, then she's randy as anything and God help anything that stands between me and her then!"

Brock chuckled at his younger friend, "And you thought Misty's temper on its own was bad."

Ash sank deeply into his chair, "I'll never complain about Misty or her temper again."

A soft, breathy noise, not unlike a snore emitted from Leaf whose eyes still appeared faraway and glazed. Both men watched her apprehensively. "Is she alright?" Brock asked.

"I think so, she's done this before and she was fine," Ash replied with more conviction than he felt as he eyed her closely. "I mean, she looks alright, doesn't she?"

As he spoke her eyes began to flutter, awareness dawning as she recognised her surroundings. Immediately she blushed deeply. "I'm sorry; I've been doing that a lot lately."

"What was that?" Brock asked concernedly. "Are you okay?"

Leaf yawned and rubbed her eyes as she nodded. "I've been feeling really drained lately with the pregnancy and planning the wedding, and it's like I just fall asleep. The doctor called them micro-naps when I mentioned them, and just told me not to drive or something else equally as dangerous when I'm tired." At Ash's horrified expression she shook her head and immediately tried to pacify him. "It's fine Ash! They're just mini naps! The doctor said it was completely fine!"

"Why didn't you tell me that when I asked you what was happening last time that happened?" he demanded.

Leaf blushed again, "It's kind of embarrassing, just having random open-eyed naps all over the place. Honestly I thought I was at a point where I could predict them and not worry you, but I guess not."

Ash only grunted in reply and proceeded to drink the rest of his hot chocolate in one long uninterrupted gulp, scrunching his face in pain as the hot liquid scalded his tongue.

"Anyway," Leaf continued, turning away from her petulant fiancé who was fanning his tongue furiously and facing Brock. "Where are Gary and Misty these days? I'm pretty sure they didn't move out."

"They didn't, though I don't think either of you would recognise your old houses," Brock replied with a shake of his head. "They both seriously overhauled, repainting and getting new furniture and the like."

"And you said they aren't together right now?"

"And probably won't be for a while, why?"

Leaf shrugged, "Just wondering if we could talk to them together rather than running from house to house."

Brock stood and stretched languidly, "I'm sure if you asked nicely enough they would meet with the two of you together," he said with a yawn. "Why? Do you think you'll ask them?"

Leaf nodded, "It can't hurt to ask but like I say I can't see them agreeing to take part, but I definitely want them there."

Ash rolled his eyes but nodded anyway as he helped Leaf to stand. "I couldn't imagine getting married without Misty being there."

"You never could, only before you imagined her in the white dress beside you, not sitting in the aisles with Gary Oak," Brock quipped with a cheeky grin.

Ash shook his head. "That was a long time ago, and I'm happy with Leaf and our baby on the way now anyway."

Leaf smirked and stood on the tips of her toes to brush a light kiss on Ash's cheek. "Nice save."

"Oi! I'm not the one who said it!" Ash retorted, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Brock smiled as he watched them banter playfully amongst themselves. Though they definitely weren't the couple the smart money had their bets on, it was obvious they were absolutely smitten with one another. "Well, I should probably get going lovebirds, but have a think about what I said, alright?"

Ash still appeared unsure but Leaf nodded eagerly. "We'll see them as soon as we can," she said, nudging Ash in the stomach with an elbow.

He winced and clutched the now tender spot with his hand. "We'll see them soon." He repeated through gritted teeth.

"I'll talk to Gary if it'll make you feel better Ash," Brock offered with a smirk. "Though I don't know if it'll help your case if I have to plead with him not to hit you just 'cause you're scared of him."

"Like I don't have good reason to be," Ash muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"Look, I'll tell you what I told Misty; suck it up and get it over with. He deserves to say what he wants to say and debatable or not, you deserve to hear it. And who knows? He's calmed down a fair bit, he probably won't do anything anyway," he said convincingly, pushing to the back of his mind for the moment that Gary had admitted not two hours ago that he still wanted to punish Ash.

"Well," Ash began reluctantly, not sounding particularly appeased as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I guess I maybe do owe him one."

Brock walked out of the kitchen and down the narrow hallway to the front door, reaching a hand to twist the doorknob and pull, allowing the bright mid-morning sun to filter in, "Let me know when you plan to meet them, I'll try and talk to them beforehand." He stepped over the threshold and took a few steps before he stopped in his tracks and froze.

"Something the matter Brock?" Ash called after him.

"Not exactly…" he muttered, considering his epiphany from all angles. "I've just had an idea."

"What?" Ash whined impatiently. "What's your idea?"

"I know who can marry you guys, someone who's a celebrant and owes me a couple of big favours."

"Who?" Leaf asked with wide, excited eyes. "Who do you know?"

Brock smirked as he turned back to face them properly. "Felina Ivy."

**-XXX-**

Samuel Oak whistled a jaunty tune as he walked the worn path to the Ketchum house.

He would forever be grateful to Brock; while Gary and Misty were by themselves, the young man had taken it upon himself to join him downstairs, filling him in on the details so far. While Sam felt somewhat strange and maybe even a little intrusive asking for the ins and outs of his grandsons' personal life, he felt immensely better knowing that at the very least he and Misty were taking the proper steps to right themselves again.

And upon her orders, he had to share any and all developments on that front with Delia.

Though she still carried a heavy heart that Misty and Ash fell apart as they did, Delia couldn't deny that Gary and Misty would make a fantastic, if a little volatile, couple, and gushed loudly and often that they'd produce some very attractive babies one day.

Gary hadn't said anything after he had come down the stairs as Brock and Misty had left that morning, but he couldn't hide the secretive smile, nor could he disguise the way his eyes looked properly lit for the first time in years. It didn't take a genius to guess what his and Misty's private conversation had entailed. Perhaps it wasn't so silly for Delia to be bringing up the prospect of children in the near future; Lord knows Gary and Misty would likely be married, and possibly parents by now had they stayed together.

The rusty latch on the gate popped opened with a long, drawn out groan. Sam kicked up a thin cloud of orange dust as he walked the rocky path leading directly to the front door, raising a fist to knock on the faded red wood as Delia came barreling through before he could, wicker basket on one arm and a wide brimmed hat in her hand.

"Samuel!" she gasped as a hand flew to her chest in an effort to calm her ragged breathing. "You scared me half to death! Is there something I can do for you?"

"I bring good news," he replied with a slow grin. "But I can come back later if this is a bad time?"

"Oh no, don't be silly," Delia said with a wave of her hand as she closed the door behind her. "I was just about to harvest my carrots. You could join me if you'd like?" she offered as she lifted the lid on a small basket at her door side and took out a pair of thick gardening gloves, sliding them over her slender hands before putting on her hat.

Shrugging noncommittally, Sam slid his hands into his slacks pockets and followed Delia as she rounded the house and headed toward her veggie patch which was brightly coloured and teeming with growth.

"So," Delia began as she kneeled before the garden and wrapped one hand around the feathery leaves of one of the carrots as the other stabilised the earth around it as she tugged it from the ground. "What is your good news?"

"It seems Gary and Misty are finally on the same page again," Sam replied with a smile as he sat down beside Delia and dusted the excess dirt from her carrots and laid them neatly in the basket. "They had a talk this morning and Gary can barely keep his head out of the clouds now."

"And Misty?" Delia inquired with a hint of excitement in her tone.

"I didn't actually see her before she left earlier this morning," he said, his tone light. "But if how Gary was acting was any indication…"

"You think they're back together then?" Delia asked, her voice excited though slightly strained from contending with a difficult carrot.

Sam shook his head, "Not back together, but I think it's safe to say an understanding has been reached that both are happy with."

"I do hope so," she said, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "After everything you've told me about them, they deserve some happiness."

"That they do," Sam agreed with a nod. "It's nice not to see them being so stubborn about it; without Brock I think those two would have gone on quite miserably, never talking to each other again."

Delia gave a breathy little laugh, "There are both incredibly hard headed," she agreed. "And Brock is as patient as they come. Why he opted to become a breeder instead of going into medicine or something else equally as rewarding I'll never understand."

"He does what makes him happy, and he is brilliant at what he does; not to mention he shares the field with his own lady love," Sam added with a sly smile.

With a light giggle Delia nodded. "You're right, of course."

For a little while longer they sat in silence as Delia continued to pull carrots from the garden and pass them to Sam, who dusted the excess dirt from them and lined them evenly in the wicker basket.

"Is there anything else to be picked?" Sam asked as they both stood from the ground and dusted their knees.

With a contemplative expression Delia moved to the tomato plants and gave the reddening fruits a quick squeeze and a sniff. "Nothing else just yet, maybe these peas," she fingered a pod on the vine almost ponderingly before casting her eyes to the turned earth at her feet. "Though I do have some lettuces to plant where the carrots were, and I wanted to replant the herbs to the front garden too."

Sam stared at her in puzzlement before all the pieces clicked together. "Delia," he began cautiously. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Of course!" she answered a little too quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I'm not sure, but I've told you before I know something is wrong when you take to the garden in this manner. Now, please, tell me what's bothering you?" he said softly.

With a sigh, Delia stripped the gloves from her hands and dropped them to the ground, and silently beckoned for him to follow her into the house where she led him to the living room and gestured for him to sit as she disappeared down the hall.

"_These _are what's bothering me," her voice came from behind him, dropping a glossy magazine in his lap. As Sam stared wide-eyed at the cover as Delia sat down in the armchair to the side with a huff and continued in an oddly dark tone. "Can you believe it? The vile things they're saying about my son. And Leaf too! She's not coming out of this cleanly either, and Gary and Misty are having their names tarnished too with all these filthy rumours!"

"I haven't seen these…" Sam said quietly, his fingers tracing the outline of a picture of Gary in the corner. "Gary never mentioned."

"I doubt Gary has even seen these unless he's an avid reader of every gossip publication in Kanto!"

"I would still think he might notice something like this, regardless of whether or not he reads these horrible pieces," he flipped to the right page and skimmed through the article. "This is disgusting; everything they're saying is an outright lie!"

"Ash and Leaf can't even get married with everything like this," Delia sighed sadly. "Everyone seems to believe this horrible gossip; no one wants to marry them."

"We could sue them, you know."

"…what?"

"I said-"

"Yes, yes, I heard very well what you said," Delia shot back impatiently as she rubbed her temples in slow, small circles. "I just find it very difficult to believe that you just suggested suing every magazine in Kanto."

"What's so hard to believe?" Sam placed the magazine back down on the table and leaned back in the chair, arms folded across his chest. "They're publishing lies! It's hearsay, it's libel, it's defamation, it's slander," he ticked the offenses off on his fingers. "And they certainly have something to answer for if Ash and Leaf can't find anyone willing to marry them because of it. Not to mention any potential damage done to Gary or Misty's careers."

"I do see your point," Delia told him hesitantly. "But how would we do it? Could we do it?"

Sam's lips curled into the patented Oak smirk as he shook his head and chuckled. "How easily you forget my means Delia."

Delia narrowed and rolled her eyes as she waited for him to continue despite knowing exactly what he was about to say. "While we don't flaunt it often, the Oaks are exceedingly important and wealthy."

"I have no idea where this side of you comes from Sam," she replied wearily, a small smile on her face.

"I break it out whenever I need to," he said in a very assured tone. "But wealth and importance comes with no small amount of perks."

"And here I thought wealth and importance were perks all on their own," she muttered under her breath.

"The Oaks are an old family," he continued with the same smirk. "As such, we have old family lawyers that have looked after us and our interests for many generations. I can file anything, and fight on Gary's behalf as they represent him too. Still though, even if he has no interest I will go through with it anyway."

"What would it achieve in the long run though?" Delia asked tiredly.

"Ash and Leaf would be able to marry and the besmirching of all their names would cease. Not to mention the fact that there are ways to keep these publications from ever mentioning their names within their pages again."

"I don't know Sam; it seems like an awful lot of fuss for something that will most likely blow over in a couple of weeks."

"In a few weeks the damage will be done," Sam argued, "and the predicament everyone finds themselves in will likely be permanent. By demanding a retraction we can at least ensure the wider world knows that what was published was a lie."

Delia sighed, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. "Is there any way I can help?"

Sam's grin was positively shark-like, and oddly out of place on his face given just how out of character it was on him. "Leave everything to me."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

**AN: **Yes, the chip advert mentioned is actually on air here. In the interest of full disclosure since I don't know how referencing ads goes or if I have to at all, it's an ad for Red Rock Deli potato chips, the 'gourmet' chip brand here in Oz. I prefer the Smiths 'chippy slap' ads, but I don't think that would have made Leaf cry, and please let there be another Aussie out there who knows what I'm talking about!

Oh, and I'm no gardener; I have absolutely no idea if carrots or peas or lettuce are in season at the same time so if you are someone who knows these things, just bear with me!

And because I have no one else to share this with that cares, my budgie finally hatched some eggs! She's been trying for such a long time and finally she has two tiny little birdy babies! It's really adorable :)

Leave a review! If you have any thoughts or have anything you'd like to see added to the story now that we're coming towards the end let me know that too!


	11. Limitation

Apologies again about the wait; thank all that is good for tuition free weeks! Hopefully I can make a good start on the next one now! We are starting to get down to the wire! After this there will probably only be about three or four more chapters to go, so once more I have to decide whether or not I should be happy or sad… anyway, let's go!

**DISCLAIMER: **Not on your life or mine.

'To The Happy Couple'

Chapter 11: 'Limitation'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

Ash could feel the sweat rolling in beads down his neck. He could feel his palms moistening and his fingers shaking. He gulped and breathed in deeply, determined not to let his nerves get the better of him. He lifted his hand to the wood again and poised to knock, his movements faltering before he sighed, dropping his hand back down to his side and curling it into a tight fist as he grit his teeth in frustration. He heard a sigh from his side.

"Wouldn't it be better if we just went in there?"

Ash stared down at Leaf, eyeing her as though she was crazy through his haze of nervousness, "Can't wait to see me dead, can you?" he muttered.

Leaf rolled her eyes and squeezed his hand gently, "How many times do I need to tell you Ash? You're just being paranoid. Gary isn't going to do anything, alright? I know him, trust me."

"I do trust you, I just think you're wrong," he said bluntly, lifting his hand to try again.

It had taken another month for Ash to summon enough intestinal fortitude to speak to Gary, if one could even call it that. Trying to contact Gary had proved nigh on impossible, and talking to him was comparable to pulling teeth. Not once had words been exchanged, nor had there been a moment up until now that they had been in the same room, the only communication between them coming from a series of notes passed from Gary to Ash by a very annoyed and reluctant Brock who moaned loudly and often that he was no better than a bloody carrier Pidgey.

With a quiet growl Ash's hand fell back to his side again as he stared intensely at the door, as though willing it to burst into flames so he would be spared having to knock and have Gary know he was there.

"For the love of God Ash, if you don't knock, I will," Leaf huffed threateningly.

"I've got it!" he snapped. "I just…" he sighed, resting a fist on the door but not knocking. He drew a deep breath and closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as he pulled his hand back and finally, shakily knocked once, twice, three times in very quick succession.

He held his breath as they waited, wondering if Gary had heard his feeble knocks. They heard a light shuffling movement in the house, the sound of footsteps and rustling of clothes, steadily becoming louder and louder as it moved closer to the door. Leaf gave his hand another comforting squeeze.

With his stomach somewhere around his ankles, Ash stared at the glinting silver doorknob as it slowly turned and watched with baited breath as the door slowly pushed forward, revealing Gary standing on the threshold with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his lips.

"Hello Leaf," he greeted simply, not even acknowledging Ash beside her, "You're looking well. About five months, right?"

She smiled that beautiful glowing smile of all expectant mothers and rested a hand on her stomach. "Yes, with a little girl."

He gave a genuine smile in return and looked down at her now very obvious belly. "I'm happy for you."

"Thank you," she replied with another smile. "Can we come inside now?" she asked, gesturing to Ash beside her who was standing ramrod straight and looking vaguely green.

For the first time, Gary turned and looked at Ash with a deep scowl. He stood to the side and motioned for the couple to come in, closing the door softly behind them. "Our fourth isn't here yet, so just sit tight for now, she shouldn't be too much longer." He waved towards the sofa in the living room and disappeared out of sight without another word, leaving Leaf and Ash to admire the changes that had taken place in their absence.

"Wow," Leaf gasped breathlessly as she took in her surroundings. "Brock wasn't kidding."

Ash had to agree. The entire living room had been painted; what was once a soft fawn colour was now a deep shade of blue, somewhere in between royal blue and navy. The furniture Leaf remembered was gone, making way for chocolate brown leather and darkly stained wood, contrasting beautifully against the new timber flooring. All the pictures that had once dominated the walls had been taken down save for one that Leaf couldn't help but find fascinating; a picture of Gary and Misty at what must have been a League event from several years ago; Gary in a full suit, Misty in a gorgeous floor skimming green gown, arms around each other as they gazed not into the camera but into each others' eyes. Leaf stared at the photo with a degree of wonder; five years she had been with Gary, not once had he ever looked at her with the kind of loving softness he was bestowing on Misty.

"If I ever had any doubts about them before, they're long gone now," she said softly, lifting a hand to trace the picture with a finger. "Just look at them Ash."

Begrudgingly Ash came up beside her. She felt his tense arm brush against hers as he leant in to get a better look at the picture. His stance softened as he saw the looked at the photo but he didn't say a word, a brief flash of sadness crossing his features.

"Huh," he murmured in wonder. "He really loved her."

"Loves," Leaf corrected gently. "And she loves him too."

Slowly they moved away from the picture, settling themselves down on the sofa as they continued to take in their surroundings. Apart from the overall layout of the house, there was not a single aspect of it Leaf recognised anymore.

"He really did a number on this place, didn't he?" Ash commented, his face crinkled in distaste.

"I like it," Leaf replied as she thumbed idly through a scientific journal on the coffee table. "It suits him."

They sat in silence, listening to the muffled movements of Gary down the hall. Ash squirmed in his seat, throwing frequent glances towards the door. "How much longer is she going to be?" he said exasperatedly.

"She'll take as long as she needs to take Ketchum," Gary answered in a clipped tone as he waltzed back into the room. "Personally I can't blame her for taking her time; you two haven't said anything about why you wanted us to meet like this."

"It's just something we want to ask you two," Leaf said reassuringly. "We aren't going to say anything before Misty arrives though."

"Speaking of Misty," Gary began, moving to stand in front of her. "I take it you worked it out?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, "I didn't work it out myself, but Brock told me. And even if I didn't, that picture on the wall would have given it away immediately."

Gary nodded somewhat jerkily, looking between the pair on the sofa as his eyes flickered in the direction of the picture. "That isn't why you're here, is it?"

Both Ash and Leaf shook their heads vehemently, "Of course not!"

A loud knock broke the silence that had fallen between them. Ash and Leaf exchanged a smirk as they noticed the way Gary's eyes lit up at the sound, striding away as though there was no one else in the room to answer the door.

Neither could make out the words being spoken at the front door. All they heard were subdued voices and soft laughs that became progressively louder as Gary and Misty reappeared in the living room with his hand resting on her lower back, both with smiles on their faces.

"Hello Ash, Leaf," Misty greeted pleasantly as she saw them. "How are you both?"

"Good," Ash replied with a raised eyebrow, looking over at Leaf with a tiny smirk. "What about you?"

"Oh, you know," Misty said airily, "Keeping busy. How's the pregnancy going?"

Leaf smiled and rubbed her stomach, "It's going great; we're having a little girl."

Misty gave a soft smile, watching as Ash's hand joined Leaf's on her stomach, their fingers intertwining. "I'm very happy for you both."

Ash watched Gary as Misty spoke, noticing the way his hand moved to curve around her waist and squeeze her just that little bit tighter, holding her even closer to him. Ash had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping; from the way they were acting, it seemed like they were already back together.

"I'll go get us some drinks," Gary offered suddenly. "Care to give me a hand Red?" he asked charmingly, offering an outstretched arm. To Ash's great shock, Misty giggled, hooking her hand into the crook of Gary's arm.

"Lead the way Oak," she said with a wink before they disappeared without another word.

Leaf let out a deep breath, "I thought Brock said they weren't together?"

Ash nodded, "He did. I guess he got his lines crossed."

"That was nearly a month ago," Leaf said contemplatively. "They might have gotten back together since then."

"They do have a lot of history though," Ash commented as he tried to put all the pieces together. "They might just be super friendly."

Leaf shook her head, "It was more than that."

"I don't know then!" Ash cried, throwing his arms up in defeat. "Brock did say they were in the process of working themselves out, maybe they're just getting closer?"

"Maybe," an amused female voice interjected, "You two ought to stop with the gossiping and just ask if you're really so interested."

Ash and Leaf turned abruptly, the journal sitting in Leaf's lap falling to the floor, to see Misty standing in the doorway with two tall glasses in her hands and a smirk on her lips.

"Well, are you together?" Ash blurted indelicately, earning a sharp elbow to the ribs from Leaf.

"It's really none of our business Misty," Leaf said in an appeasing tone. "You don't need to say anything."

"Well, either way, we aren't, we've just been talking a bit," Misty said as she set the glasses she was holding down on the table, Gary following in shortly after with another two glasses. They took the seat opposite Ash and Leaf and looked on expectantly. "Well, what did you want us both here for?" Misty asked, taking a sip of her drink.

Ash and Leaf exchanged a look. "Well," Leaf began slowly, picking up the glass before her and swirling the contents, "There's something we want to ask you both."

"About our wedding," Ash added with a slight cringe.

Gary and Misty glanced at each other and seemed to share a telepathic conversation. "And your request would be?" Gary asked coolly, turning back to the couple.

"Well, obviously we both want you there," Leaf said quickly, "But we'd like you to be involved too."

"But you don't have to say yes, or do anything really!" Ash cut in.

"Involved how?" Gary asked with a raised eyebrow a few moments later as Misty looked back and forth between the two apprehensively.

"Gary, none of my friends are talking to me anymore after everything," Leaf said sadly, casting her eyes downwards, "And my parents are still objecting to our marriage," Ash's hand tightened slightly around hers in silent support. "I don't have anyone who can be there with me, or anyone who can give me away." Her eyes drifted up to meet Gary's imploringly. "It would mean the world to me if you would be there for me."

"Same for you Misty," Ash nodded towards her, "It doesn't matter what happens between us, you will always be my best friend, and I want you there with me too."

Gary and Misty regarded the pair in front of them with wide, disbelieving eyes before turning to share another silent conversation. Ash and Leaf watched on awkwardly as the silence between them turned from seconds to minutes before finally being broken by loud, hysterical laughter.

"You want us to _what_?" Gary managed through tears of mirth.

"Have the two of you gone completely and utterly insane?" Misty asked through her uncontrollable giggles. "Brock put you up to this, didn't he?"

"Only he would suggest something so stupid and downright _friendly_!"

"I can't even…" Misty trailed off, clutching at her ribs as her laughter renewed. She lolled to the side, her head falling into Gary's lap. "Really, can't even…!"

One of Gary's hands drifted to Misty shoulder as the other wiped his eyes, "I can't believe you two!"

"Seriously Ash, I thought you'd have more sense than this!"

"Oh Red, we're going to have a nice long chat with Brock, aren't we?"

"I think so," she replied with another breathless giggle. "Here I was thinking Brock was smart!"

"And yet here we are! Really though, how could he be so-"

"Stupid?" they finished together, dissolving into fits of laughter once more.

Ash and Leaf watched as the other two laughed maniacally with slack jaws. Of all the reactions they could have hoped for, both would admit this was the last one they would have expected.

"You know, you could have just said no," Ash grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

"Ashy, did you even think about what it was you're asking?" Gary asked, wiping the remainder of his tears away. "You want us there to do what exactly? What sort of involvement would it be? There is not a snowflakes' chance in hell of me agreeing to be your best man or whatever it is your suggesting."

Ash smirked, "That wasn't at all what I said."

"Then what the fuck is it that you're suggesting?"

"I want you there for me, Gary," Leaf said firmly.

"As what?" Gary cried, throwing up his hands. "As your Maid of Honour?"

"Well…" Leaf trailed off, looking at her hands folded in her lap.

Gary's eyes widened comically as Misty sat bolt upright once more. "You really have got to be kidding," he said in disbelief.

Leaf shifted nervously in her seat, "You don't have to say yes or anything," she mumbled, "but I'd really like it if you were there with me. Of course, we wouldn't call you a Maid of Honour, maybe Man of Honour or something like that."

"And you'd be the…" Ash's face scrunched up and he shook his head as though he couldn't believe what he was suggesting either. "You'd be the Best Woman or something Misty."

"Let me get this straight," Gary leaned forward, resting elbows on his knees, "You want us," he gestured between himself and Misty, "To come watch you guys get married, _after everything_? And not only that, you want to give us a front row seat? What the hell, guys?"

"This is pretty weird," Misty said, biting at her bottom lip. "Classic Brock, but weird."

"No one said you had to say yes!" Leaf cried out, waving her hands around dramatically. "But it would mean a lot to both of us if you'd at least consider it!"

"Brock said it would be like closure for us," Ash tried to reason, "If you guys came then it would be like… the closing of a book, or something."

"A new beginning," Leaf supplied, "Turning the page, whatever you'd like to call it. But it would give all a sense of finality, of peace."

"I don't know if either of us can do what you want," Misty said quietly. "I'll go, definitely, but what you're asking is a little bit of a stretch."

"Besides, I have all the closure I could want; you guys are together and having a baby, Misty and I… we're floating along at our own pace, the sky is blue and trees are green," Gary said with a shrug. "If there was something I really wanted, that you were offering instead of this closure of which you so highly speak, I would be asking for a chat with Ashy boy here," Gary stared at Ash with fathomless eyes. "There are many loose ends here, ones I'd very much like to tie up."

Ash gulped audibly, "Is that what you want? For us to… talk?"

Gary's lips twisted into an almost feral grin, "It's what I've wanted for a _very_ long time."

Misty and Leaf looked between the two men apprehensively, waiting to see if the conversation would escalate further or if reinforcements would need to be called in.

"Okay," Ash said eventually, his voice cracking slightly. "Okay," he whispered again, more to himself this time. "When?"

Gary shrugged and gave another malicious smile, "Why not now?"

Ash visibly blanched as Leaf placed an encouraging hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay," she said softly, "I promise, he won't do anything."

"You can't promise anything for him!" Ash whispered in an urgent tone. "I mean, look at him! You can't say you don't know exactly what he wants with me."

"You remember what Brock said, right? Let Gary get this off his chest, then we can move on; it's the least we can do for him."

Ash looked up into her beseeching green eyes, sighed, and nodded. Together they turned back to Misty and Gary who were engaged in a similar conversation on their seat.

"I know you've waited a long time for this," Misty was saying in a low, almost reluctant tone, "But please, don't do anything stupid? For me, please."

They watched Gary give a small, genuine smile. "Fine. For you, I won't do anything I deem to be excessively stupid."

Misty raised an eyebrow, "It's pretty obvious we have different ideas of what exactly 'excessively stupid' is."

He chuckled lowly, "And I vote we go over exactly what those differences are _after_ this so I can be absolutely sure that in the future there is zero conflict between our beliefs, but I'm sure that, for the time being at least, we can agree that this is something that needs to be done, for my own sanity if nothing else."

She rolled her eyes, "I really hope you know what you're doing."

"Think of it this way; doing this is, for me, the second last step."

Misty looked up at him with wide eyes, "Really?"

He nodded solemnly and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, "Really." With a final nod Gary stood and crossed his arms, jerking his head in the direction of the back door. "Let's go Ketchum."

Ash stood on shaky legs, taking several deep, calming breaths as with a final look back at Leaf he followed Gary down the hall and out the back door, leaving Misty and Leaf in the living room, both awkwardly twiddling their thumbs as words failed them.

"I heard about that stuff with the magazines," Misty said as the silence became too stifling for either woman to deal with. "Gary told me about it, after he visited his grandfather a few weeks ago. He said you guys were having trouble with your wedding?"

Leaf shrugged her narrow shoulders, "Brock was able to help us out there. Do you remember a woman named Felina Ivy?"

Misty's eyes widened with surprise, "The Orange Islands professor?"

"Yeah, her," Leaf confirmed as she sipped her drink, "Apparently she's a celebrant too and she owes Brock a few favours, and he called one in. We're getting married in a little over a month now back in Pallet."

"Huh," Misty mumbled quietly, "That's really good for you guys. Are you going through with suing those magazines?"

Leaf shook her head slowly, "I don't want to draw more attention than necessary, and the magazines have eased up lately, they couldn't stay on us forever. We'll give statements and whatever else but right now I don't want to get any more involved than necessary, and I'm pretty sure the professor is carrying on with it on our behalf anyway. Is Gary doing anything?"

"He didn't even know what was going on until he visited his grandfather, and even then I don't think he even cared about what they were saying, or at least he never said he did."

"I've never known him to take much personally," Leaf agreed, "but I can tell you that he was probably outraged over the things they were saying about you. He's really very protective of those he cares about."

Misty shrugged noncommittally, "I don't know about that. We haven't actually spoken very much, and when we do, he doesn't say much about what's going on, he only mentioned this stuff in passing. But I do hope you guys succeed in getting the retraction; the lies they publish… it's disgusting what they can get away with really."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem. One thing I know about the Oak's is that they can be very persuasive," Leaf said, raising her glass to her lips once more.

Silence fell once more as it became painfully obvious to both women that there was no comfortable common ground between them, and that no conversation they had ever had in the past had lasted quite this long, nor had they ever been alone together before now. Within minutes the room was filled with huffed breaths, sighs, impatient finger tapping and clicking tongues, anything to fill the empty atmosphere with some sort of sound and pass the time.

"I'm sorry," Leaf blurted out suddenly.

"What on earth for?" Misty asked as her neck snapped quickly upwards.

"For everything that happened with you and Gary!" she explained slowly, oblivious to the increased tension in the room that set the mood on a knifes' edge.

Misty raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "What happened wasn't even a little bit your fault; I don't even know why you're apologising."

"I'm apologising because it was a sad situation," Leaf said gently. "I've heard stories and I've seen pictures of you and Gary, what happened wasn't fair on any of you, or me I suppose."

"Are you intentionally trying to make me feel worse here Leaf?" Misty snapped, standing up suddenly. "Because I assure you, I know it was all my fault and I don't think I could ever feel worse for what happened."

"No, no! Of course not!" Leaf cried, her arms outstretched in a gesture of surrender. "From what I've heard, we all share a little of the blame, God knows I could have talked to Gary earlier when I first worked out he didn't have any romantic feelings towards me; I drew this out just as much as any of us!"

"And if it hadn't been for me, none of us would have been in that position to begin with!" Misty retorted heatedly, her gaze burning into Leaf, making her shift uncomfortably. "I have gone round and round on this, and there is nothing else! It was all me."

"No one says they blame you though!" Leaf said soothingly. "Misty, you have spent so damn long thinking like this when no one else does; what does that say about you?"

"It says far more about the rest of you!" Misty hissed.

Leaf sighed deeply. "Can I say something to you Misty? I know Gary has already said his piece to you and Ash sorted everything out with you before, but we never spoke. Even back when we were doing those double date things with the boys we never talked about anything beyond idle chit chat. There was always something unspoken between us that left us incapable of being friends, and I don't want that; you mean too much to Ash, and you mean the world to Gary who I hope will always be my friend. Can I please tell you what I think?"

Misty chuckled darkly, squaring her shoulders and looking on defiantly. "Try your best.'

"Look Misty, there might be a basis here to blame you for how this started," Leaf began in a calm tone, "But as far as how it ended, it was all me and Ash. We finished it in a way that I'm certain was humiliating and insulting to both you and Gary. This whole horrible mess? We can all take the blame for it. But at the end of the day, if none of this happened, I wouldn't be having this little girl," she placed a protective hand over the curve of her stomach, "I wouldn't be getting married, and I wouldn't be half as happy as I am now. As twisted as it is Misty, can't you see the good that has come of this?"

To that, Misty had no words. With her mouth agape, she sunk back down on her seat and held her head in her hands as though trying to make sense of Leaf's argument.

"You and Gary have more than matured in your time apart," Leaf continued in the same casual tone, "You looked to be an amazing couple before," she pointed in the direction of the one photo on the wall, "But now there's something else there now, an appreciation, knowledge that you really can't be without each other, something that truly makes him cling to you, a thing I never would have imagined Gary Oak doing." She smirked at Misty's defeated expression. "And lastly, Ash sure seems happy. Every morning he wakes up, kisses my belly and says 'good morning' to her. He is so excited about becoming a father, even if he is downright terrified. The way we all went about this was messy, no doubt about that, but so many good things have come from it Misty! Please try and understand that! No one blames you!"

Misty let out a shuddering sigh and looked up, revealing the tears falling down her pale cheeks. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again; unable to find the right words to truly convey what she was feeling. Her head fell to her hands as her body wracked with enormous, unashamed sobs as her entire thought process was turned on its head, considering possibilities that had long seemed impossible and unattainable. Without words or encouragement Leaf stood from her place and moved to sit next to her, wrapping a reassuring arm around her shoulders as the last piece fell into place for Misty, finally allowing herself to take the first steps towards forgiving herself for the mistake she made so long ago.

**-XXX-**

Ash was so busy focusing on the sound of his blood pounding in his ears that he barely registered Gary's words as he followed him outside.

"First off Ashy, I want to congratulate you," Gary said, closing the ornate back door behind them.

"For what? The baby? The wedding?" Ash asked, inwardly scratching his head as they walked down the small staircase to the grassed yard.

Gary chuckled, "No, though I suppose that does deserve some congratulations. Well done Ash on knocking up and marrying my ex. But what I was really getting at was congratulations on taking this like a man."

"Taking what like a man?" he asked nervously.

"This." His fist came flying out of nowhere, landing with a sickening thud that sent Ash reeling backwards, clutching at his nose.

"What the bloody fuck Oak?" Ash yelled, wiping frantically at his nose to find that it hadn't bled, though it was bruising quickly.

Gary sighed with satisfaction and cracked his fingers and wrist, "Much better," he said to himself with a smirk, watching as Ash stumbled back to his feet.

"'Much better'? Really? That's all you have to say? What the hell?"

"What the hell do you think? Really Ash, even you can't be this thick."

"Look," Ash started darkly, brushing loose blades of grass from his jeans, "I get that there's probably a lot you want to get out in the open, but if I'm going to take it like a man, then you're going to at least act like one too."

For a brief moment Gary looked thoroughly chastised before his expression changed back to his patented smirk once more. "Fair enough."

"Alright," Ash said reluctantly. "How exactly do you want to do this?"

"Like this, I think." Another fist flew, this time connecting with a wet sounding crack as a steady stream of blood began to flow from Ash's battered nose.

"You son of a bitch! You broke my nose!" Ash yelled. "What the fuck! Why did you do that again?"

Gary shrugged, offering a towel from a nearby table that Ash was certain had been left outside for this exact purpose. "Had to be twice. Once for Leaf and once for Misty. Believe me Ketchum, I'm holding back."

Ash gaped at him, pinching the bridge of his nose as firmly as he could as he held the towel underneath to catch the blood. He winced at the gentle pressure that he doubted could ever have been gentle enough as he probed with tentative fingers, feeling the new deviation and pronounced bump in his nose and the surrounding tender patches of flesh that were already swollen and heavy. "Is this out of your system yet?" he growled.

He gave another infuriating smirk as he crossed his arms and nodded. "I'm not going to hit you again if that's what you mean."

"If that's what…" Ash repeated dazedly, "What they hell else would I… no, you know what? Fine. Whatever. Now say what you need to say before I decide maybe I should hit you back."

"It's not so much what needs to be said Ash," Gary began in a clipped tone, pacing up a storm in front of Ash who simply watched him cautiously. "The events of the past five years have been rehashed over and over again these past couple of weeks and quite frankly, I'm getting sick of it. Besides," he took a deep breath, "I really can't blame you for what happened with Misty. She and I weren't exclusive at the time, you weren't to know and I certainly could have made the effort to tell you instead of watching you kiss her like a moron, she could have as well."

Ash's jaw, and the towel, fell to the ground. "Then what the fuck was this for?" he cried, his hands waving wildly around his face.

"Because it was the exact same scenario," Gary snarled, his anger bubbling to the surface. "You may not have known about Misty until after, but you damn sure knew about Leaf and yet you did it to me _again_. You can bitch and moan about how terrible you feel about what happened with Misty and how you 'stole' her or whatever from me but if you really felt that bad doing it once then _why the fuck _Ash would you do it again?"

Ash jaw dropped once more leaving him gaping almost comically if it weren't for the circumstances. "You and Leaf weren't working-"

"That is not a fucking excuse!" Gary seethed, his hands curling into fist again at his sides. "You are not going to stand there and tell me that sleeping with my girlfriend, however shaky that relationship was, for near on two and a half fucking years was perfectly fine Ash! Don't even dare!" He started pacing again. "God Ash, it makes me sick just thinking about it. And you were so perfectly fine with cheating on Misty too."

Ash's eyes flashed with indignant anger, "Misty and I-"

"No," Gary cut in in a low, deadly tone, a finger jabbing almost painfully into Ash's chest. "There are no excuses for what you did to her. If you had such a damn problem with her you could have dealt with it like a man, and the fact that you noticed there was something wrong and chose to ignore it, and carry on an affair with the girlfriend of your assumed best friend makes you an incredibly twisted little bitch who thinks he can have his cake and eat it too."

Ash had no words. He continued to hold the towel to his nose to stifle the slowly steadying flow of blood with wide, unblinking eyes as he dimly considered whether or not to fight the point Gary had so concisely made. "I'm sorry," he said finally.

"You're what?"

"I said I was fucking sorry, alright?" Ash yelled, his crimson-stained towel falling to the grass as he threw up his arms in annoyance. "I'm sorry about what happened with Misty, and I'm sorry for doing it again! I'm sorry for taking up with Leaf and lying to your face about it, I'm sorry for betraying whatever trust you ever had in me and I'm sorry for hurting Misty because I know that hurts you too, but what more do you really want from me Gary? What more could I possibly say or do?"

"Nothing," said Gary flatly. "There is absolutely nothing you can do anymore."

"So, that's it?" Ash cringed inwardly at just how pathetic he sounded. "Twenty years of us being friends, that's gone now?"

Gary studied Ash's bloodied face with deep intent and sighed, "Ash, it was gone the minute you decided to cheat on Misty with Leaf. You didn't know about Misty and I until it was too late, and I might have been able to come halfway at least to forgiving that, but you did it again with Leaf, even after you came to all the conclusions you did, and I don't think I can get past that any time soon." He stepped exaggeratedly over the towel and back up the small staircase that lead to the house, leaving Ash standing frozen under the comparatively bright and cheery sunlight. "You and Leaf can show yourselves out," he said, not looking back as his hand rested on the doorknob, "Honest to God Ash, you piss me off so much I really worry about what I might do in your presence." And with a slam that made him wince, the door was shut on Ash and on twenty years of friendship.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

**AN: **I know she's divided readers, but I rather like Leaf in this chapter! Oh, and I'm terrible at writing fights, so forgive the shitty fight sequence, if we can even call it that!

Side note, was I the only one to have a massive fangasm over the new Kanto starters' mega evolutions?

Was there something up with the last chapter you guys didn't like? I only got half the usual amount of reviews last time. Either way, leave a review this time. People who leave reviews are awesome, and you want to be awesome, don't you?


	12. Transformation

Hello all, welcome back :) Let's get on with this chapter, it's a bit of filler to start tying up some loose ends, but this chapter should still make you guys pretty happy!

**DISCLAIMER: **I write FAN fiction people. I'm not a script writer for the anime, I'm not a code writer for the games, and I don't write those little blurbs at the bottom of the cards. I am in no way shape or form affiliated with Pokémon, as much as it pains me to admit it.

'To the Happy Couple'

Chapter 12: 'Transformation'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

Leaf gasped as Ash came stomping down the hall. "What happened to you?" she whispered, gently extricating herself from Misty's now sleeping form and laying her on a pillow to get a closer look at Ash's two black eyes and clearly broken nose.

"Gary happened," he snarled, tearing his coat from the hook and throwing it around his shoulders. "Come on, we're leaving."

Leaf seized Ash's wrist in a tight grip, preventing him from going any further, "I can't!" she whispered urgently, gesturing frantically to Misty on the seat behind them. "We can't just leave her here if Gary's that angry!"

Ash's eyes softened as he drew closer, taking in the reddened, puffy skin and dried tear tracks that looked so out of place on his normally fiery and determined best friend. "What happened here?" he asked quietly, sitting down gently on the sofa beside her.

"I just told her my side of things." Leaf shrugged. "I guess it was something she needed to hear. I didn't expect her to cry, but I think it was for the best. I'm sure she'll feel better when she wakes up."

He sighed, a hand reaching to rest on Misty's shoulder as his thumb stroked her soft skin back and forth. "I'm pretty sure Gary went back to his room; why don't you go let him know Misty's still here? He'll take care of her."

Leaf reached a hand to trace Ash's nose, pulling away with a sigh as he winced. "Do you want to talk about what happened out there Ash?"

He shook his head, "Later. Just let Gary know Misty's still here and we can go."

Deciding not to push the matter, Leaf left Ash on the sofa with Misty and followed the formerly familiar path down the halls and up the stairs to the bedroom she once used to occupy. Trying the doorknob she found it locked. Sighing, she raised her hand and knocked firmly. "Gary?" she called impatiently, "I know you're in there."

"What do you want Leaf?" he called back, his voiced sounding tired and muffled through the door.

"Setting aside for the moment the fact that you just pummeled the crap out of my fiancé for reasons that are probably beyond my comprehension, Ash and I are about to go," she said, leaning her shoulder on the wall as she spoke. "I just wanted to let you know Misty's still here. She's sleeping downstairs."

The door cracked open slowly revealing Gary whose concerned eyes contradicted his body tense with pent-up frustration. "She's sleeping downstairs?" he repeated slowly. "It's the middle of the day."

Leaf nodded. "While you and Ash were… well, _out_, she and I talked and I… I might have made her cry," she said with a cringe.

His eyes widened in surprise, "You made her cry? Over what exactly?"

"I didn't know what I was saying would make her cry!" she replied defensively. "I just said some things that made her a little emotional; I sure as hell didn't _mean_ to make her cry! Afterwards she fell asleep on your couch. Do you want me to wake her up or something? Will she get the marching orders too?"

Gary ran a hand through his unruly spikes and let out a deep breath. "Leave her for now. I'll come down and see her soon."

Leaf nodded and moved to step away. "Okay, we'll be on our way then. Thanks I guess for hearing us out."

"Did you really expect us to say yes?" he asked curiously as she began to walk away.

Leaf stopped and sighed as she turned and shrugged, "I'm not sure what I expected. I didn't think you'd laugh in my face though, that's for sure, but I don't suppose I can really blame you for that."

"It was a lot to ask though, of me and Misty," he said, opening the door wider to reveal a bedroom completely different to the one she remembered. "You were a good friend Leaf, but I'm not sure I'm the kind of person who can stand there and watch you marry Ash. I don't think there will ever be enough water under the bridge for me to willingly watch that."

"We were all friends once," Leaf argued stubbornly. "You, Ash and me. We used to best friends."

"You're right; _once_. Once we were best friends." He shook his head, "You and I can't be that anymore, but we'll probably come closer to that than Ash and I can ever come again." He moved to close the door again. "I'll attend your wedding if that's what you really want, but I won't stand there with you, and I won't give you away. I can't do that."

Leaf said nothing as she nodded though her eyes belied her sadness. "I don't suppose I can blame you for that either."

"Misty will probably say yes though," Gary mused. "The girl is such a bleeding heart where Ash is concerned, if her being his 'Best Woman' or whatever he was on about will make him happy then she'll do it."

"You know what they say about the Maid of Honour and the Best Man though, don't you?" Leaf asked coyly. "It's an almost guaranteed hook up!"

An eyebrow quirked upwards. "Even when the roles are reversed?"

"There's only one way to find out!"

He smirked wryly. "I appreciate the effort Leaf, but your wedding isn't required for Misty and I to hook up. We can do that just fine on our own."

She laughed lightly, "And how much longer will that be Gary? I got my happy ending," her hands fell to her stomach while he rolled his eyes at her unintentional double entendre, "you deserve yours; when are you and Misty going to seal the deal?"

"Soon," he replied cryptically.

When it became apparent he wasn't going to offer anything further to the conversation as he retreated back into the room and threw himself down onto the bed and sprawled out on it, Leaf turned back to the doorway and braced herself upon it. "I'll forgive you just this once for what happened with Ash-"

"-I didn't need your permission, or your forgiveness Leaf," he cut in coolly. "I did what needed to be done."

"_But_," she continued, stressing the vowel. "I need your word that it won't happen again."

He shook his head awkwardly from its position atop his crossed arms. "It won't happen again. It doesn't need to happen again. So long as he stays out of my way we'll be fine." He stretched his arms high above his head with a yawn. "You should get going Leaf; he's probably waiting for you."

"Fine," she replied shortly. "I'm gone, but don't forget the girl downstairs, alright?"

"As if I could," he mumbled only just loud enough for Leaf to hear.

"And could you at least give some thought to what I asked?" she asked imploringly. "If not only for me, then for Misty too. You don't want her standing at the altar, lonely and dateless if she does say yes do you?"

He took a moment to answer, lost in a long-suppressed fantasy of Misty standing at an altar, though in his fantasy she was the farthest thing from lonely and dateless. "I'll think about it," he said noncommittally, rolling onto his side. "But I don't get why you're fighting this so much."

"And I don't get why you're fighting so much! I keep telling you that this is for me, not Ash!"

"Leaf, I wouldn't piss on Ash if he were on fire," he deadpanned. "What makes you think I'd willingly give you away to him? And what's more, while I admire your tenacity and forthrightness in ending our sham of a relationship," she cringed at his sarcastic tone and fought to keep the flash of hurt from showing on her face, "I sure as fuck don't appreciate the way you did it. Even now Leaf, I haven't totally forgiven you and I'm not sure I ever will. And frankly, your insistence that we can all still be the best of friends and get past this and all go to each other's weddings is starting to grate on my nerves."

Leaf swallowed audibly, "I'll assume you're still angry with Ash and that you aren't being an utter arsehole on purpose-"

"I'm being an arsehole?" he laughed incredulously as he sat up suddenly. "Leaf, I don't care how we try to rationalise this. At the end of the day, you cheated on me, you made your choice," he said bluntly. "Nowhere in Life's little handbook does it say I owe you a damn thing anymore."

Leaf swallowed as she felt the sting of tears prickling her eyes. "Maybe I should just come back another day when you've calmed down."

He snorted derisively. "Yeah, you do that," he muttered as he rolled over so his back was facing her instead.

Sighing and shaking her head Leaf left the room and closed the door behind her, fighting the urge to slam it hard on its hinges so all the windows rattled. Reining in her anger she took a deep breath in and out before padding back down the stairs, taking the bannister in a white-knuckle grip for both support and as a substitute for Gary's neck.

"We're good to go," she whispered to Ash as she came back to the living room, finding him still sitting next to Misty with a distant, faraway expression on his bruised faced.

He jumped and threw a hand to his face to stifle a shriek, turning in place and sighing, clutching a hand to his chest when he noticed Leaf beside him. "Geez, Leaf! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

She smiled at him sheepishly. "Sorry." She walked around the chair so he stood in front of him. "I told Gary Misty's still here, so we're good to go."

He nodded slowly, wincing at the heaviness in his face as he moved to stand. He faced her properly, noticing the sadness mingled with anger marring her usually serene features. "You alright?" he asked gently, his fingers lifting to brush her cheek.

She let out a shaky breath, "I'll be fine," she said reassuringly, taking his hand as they walked towards the door and back out into the early afternoon sunshine. "Gary's just…" She fisted the length of her hair with her free hand and tugged at the strands in frustration. "He's just so infuriating!"

Ash chuckled lightly. "That he is," he agreed.

"Do you think he'll ever forgive us?" she asked in a voice so soft he thought he might have imagined it.

He let out a deep breath in a whoosh. "I really don't know," he said simply. 'Not any time soon, I think. He always was good at keeping a grudge"

"I know we really screwed up here Ash," she began with a shaky sigh, "But I want this to be okay! I don't want Gary to hate me; he was such a huge part of my life, of our lives! I don't want to just lose that!"

Ash smoothed a hand up and down her arm. "I don't either, but I think we might have, and I don't see how we can talk him around it. He has every right to hate us."

"I refuse to believe he can carry around this grudge forever," she declared adamantly. "We might have stuffed up, but a lot of good has come out of it! He can be with Misty again! Why is he still so pissed?"

Ash rolled his eyes. "I think that pregnancy brain thing is getting to you again Leaf. We betrayed Gary, and Misty too, in the worst possible way. It doesn't matter what happens now, he's earned the right to hate us and arsehole though he is being, I can't really blame the guy. Technically I've screwed him over twice, and I kept telling you that asking them to be in the wedding was insensitive, not to mention a dumb idea to start with."

"Wasn't my idea," she muttered lowly.

"But you still went along with it," Ash reminded her gently. "Just let him be angry. He might not forgive us, but he can't be angry forever, Misty won't let him."

Leaf gave an affirming grunt but didn't say anything more. Hand in hand, with the occasional pause to prod at the ever increasing swelling around Ash's eyes, they made the short, scenic walk back to Pallet Town.

**-XXX-**

As soon as he was certain the front door had snapped shut, Gary rolled back over into the centre of the bed, spreading his limbs apart in an almost starfish like fashion. He stared blankly at the ceiling, only dimly aware of a throbbing pain in his hand courtesy of Ash and his surprisingly hard head.

He could not believe the audacity of Ash and Leaf. Was it some sort of long buried sadistic streak that prompted Leaf to ask that favour? Surely she couldn't have been so stupid as to think he'd actually say yes! Shaking his head he vowed to smack Brock out the next time he saw him for planting such ridiculous ideas in their heads. _Man of Honour_ indeed.

Long moments passed as Gary simply lay there, reliving over and over again the glorious moment his fist connected with Ash's jaw and nose, feeling a dizzying sense of satisfaction and relief wash over him as he mentally checked off the second last thing on his Misty list. He grinned to himself as he thought of the very last thing on the list, mentally calculating when he would have the chance to finally get his last piece into play. If everything went like how he hoped, it would all be more than worth the crippling pain in his fingers.

Stretching his hands high above his head he let out a yawn ending in a little sigh of satisfaction as he licked his lips; he felt calmer and more at peace now than he had felt in years. He rolled off the bed into a standing position he padded as silently as he could down the stairs, carefully skipping the third step from the floor that always creaked noisily when stepped on, landing back in the living room to what passed in his eyes as the most adorable sight in the world.

Misty was curled around his sofa, still fast asleep to the world. She clutched a pillow to her chest as though it were a lifeline, her lips quirked slightly upwards in a small smile as pleasant dreams maintained their hold on her. Slowly Gary came closer, gingerly setting himself down on the seat beside her, not terribly concerned that he would wake her; the girl would probably sleep through Armageddon if it came to that.

For what seemed like hours he watched her, feeling no need or pull to leave his seat for anything. During the time they had been together before he had spent countless hours doing exactly this, simply watching her as she slept, enraptured by the soft sounds she made, the steady rise and fall of her body as she breathed, the way her hair fanned out messily around her as though its fire threatened to consume the surface, and the way she pursed her lips and smiled every now and then as she was doing now. Back then he had always hoped those little smiles were for him. Still did, in fact.

He was on the verge of sleep himself when he felt a twitching beside him. Slowly Misty lifted her head from the arm of the chair and took in her surroundings, a sharp gasp leaving her lips as she recognised where she was and what she had been doing.

"Relax Red," Gary said softly as she jumped in fright to find him lazing next to her. "You haven't been asleep that long."

"Uh huh…" she murmured, rubbing her stinging eyes with the heels of her hands before righting her mussed up clothing. 'What time is it?" she asked groggily.

"Just after one," he replied after a quick glance at his watch.

"Are Ash and Leaf still-"

"Gone. They left about an hour ago."

"Oh." She chewed her lip nervously. "Did you and Ash…?"

"We came to an understanding."

"Oh," she said again as she propped herself up into a seated position, their shoulders brushing together lightly. "And everything's alright?"

He nodded somewhat mechanically and folded his arms across his chest, "It'll be fine."

"Good." She looked down at her hands folded in her lap. "Do you want to talk about it?" she offered.

He turned to her, sighing and softening when he took in her bloodshot eyes. He leaned forward, reaching a hand to gently trace the stinging, reddened skin around eyes. "What the hell did Leaf say to you?" he asked softly.

Misty shook her head, reaching a hand to twine their fingers and nuzzle them with her cheek, "Nothing I didn't need to hear."

"If she hurt you…" he began threateningly.

"She didn't hurt me! Don't be ridiculous!" she scoffed, dropping their linked hands on her lap. "She just said some things that were exactly what I needed to be told. Leaf put it all into perspective for me." She shrugged lightly, "She made everything a little bit easier to be honest."

"Hmm…cryptic," he said with a smirk.

"No more so than you," she retorted.

"True," he conceded with a chuckle before letting out a sigh and leaning back against the back of the chair, tugging Misty back with him. "I hit him. Twice. I think I broke his nose."

"I thought you might," she replied, sounding thoroughly unconcerned. "Hit him, that is; I'm not that psychic. Anything else you'd like to share?"

He shrugged and shook his head. "Not particularly, you know why it needed to happen; you were there for most of it."

"Hmm," she hummed in agreement. "Do you feel better at least?"

He sighed and leaned his head back, weaving their fingers together again, "Infinitely."

Silence fell between them as Misty moved closer and rested her head against Gary's chest, listening to the soothing, almost hypnotic sound of his heart beating, starting slowly and steadily speeding up at her proximity. He let go of her hand, wrapping his now free arm around her shoulder, stroking the soft, silky skin of her upper arm up slowly up and down.

"It's close Gary," she breathed, "So close I can almost taste it."

"I know," he whispered against her ear, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. "I can feel it too."

"I just need… just a little bit more," she said, looking up at him with wide, imploring eyes. "Just a little bit…" she whispered, cut off by Gary's lips on hers.

She sighed into the kiss. It had been way, _way _too long since she had felt that familiar jolt of electricity surge through her veins, that all-encompassing wave of energy that flooded throughout her entire being, igniting her in a way only Gary knew how. Without any thought or hesitation she wound her arms around his neck to twine her fingers through his hair, parting her lips at his behest and moaning with delight at the first touch of his tongue tangling with hers as the slow pace he had tried to set flew out the window until he was devouring her like a starving man, and she was drowning in him once more.

Even when the need for air became dizzying his lips didn't leave her for long, only breaking away from her long enough to gently ease her down onto the couch so he was hovering above her. With a quick grin up at her he continued his maddening ministrations on her neck, kissing, licking and grazing with his teeth all the sensitive areas that made her gasp and moan with a precision that told her he never once forgot. Her breath was coming in short pants as she held him closer to her, only dimly aware through the haze of absolute pleasure of a growing hardness against her thigh.

With a groan against her neck Gary pulled away slowly, staring into her eyes with such intensity she was sure he was trying to bore into her very soul to see what was hidden at her depths.

"Why are you stopping?" she whispered, her hands reaching from where they were clutched around his shoulders up to wrap around his neck in an effort to pull him closer.

Leaning back on his haunches Gary ran a hand through his mussed up hair and tried to right his rumpled clothes. "Misty, you aren't… _we_ aren't ready for this. Not this part. There's still too much… but oh God I really…" He trailed off with sighed and leaned back down and brushed his lips against hers with a gentle reverence. "I don't want this if you aren't ready," he whispered. "And if we don't stop now I don't think I'll be able to later."

She stilled beneath him, taking his words into careful consideration. He watched a myriad of emotions flicker through her eyes ranging from hurt to anger, from resignation to understanding before she finally smiled up at him again. "You're right," she said finally. "Of course you're right."

"Remember, I want to. God, I would kill to, but there is one more thing." He punctuated each word with soft kisses all over her face, making her giggle wildly. "And you need more time." He pulled her back up with him so they were sitting up properly but refusing to remove his arms from around her. He chuckled breathlessly, "I guess I needed more than one for the road."

Misty giggled again and twisted around to press a kiss to his neck, just below his ear. "I think we both did. Thanks though."

He laughed again and pulled her even closer, "You weren't so bad yourself!" He settled them on the couch against the cushions so they were both comfortable. "Thank you too Red."

**-XXX-**

Suzie was starting to get bored. It had been far too long between gossip fixes, and there was only so much the wildly contradictory world of magazines could do for her when there was someone right in the thick of it sharing her bed at night. Or at least, every other night.

Things had been strained between her and Brock. Their last argument had left their relationship hanging by a thread with Brock often 'accidentally' falling asleep at the desk in his office, or on the sofa by the flickering glow of the television. He had also begun to speak to her in short, clipped sentences, telling her nothing beyond what was necessary, and their once healthy sex life had all but fizzled to a complete standstill.

This was not good at all.

She loved Brock. More than she had ever loved anyone else. They were so perfectly matched in every aspect of their lives bar one; their friends. It seemed so absurd when she thought about it. What a stupid thing to drive a couple apart! The outer friends of a couple shouldn't have any real bearing on the actual relationship, should it? And yet it was causing the most unbelievable tension between them.

Whenever she entered a room Brock was in these days she could feel the atmosphere tighten like a wire between them, like there was something he was desperate to say but couldn't find it within himself to do so. Gary's words from the last time they spoke always came back to haunt her when it was like this.

_"Your time here is limited sweetheart, you know it, I know it and deep down, Brock knows it too, and personally I can't wait for the day he sees you for what you truly are."_

After seven years together, she had a feeling her time with Brock was about to come to a close. She couldn't be certain but everything she did with Brock these days seemed to have some sort of weird finality to it, and it was starting to play out like a game of chicken to see who would flinch first and bring up the almost terminal awkwardness between them.

Only Suzie didn't want to. She only felt complete with Brock, she didn't want it to end and she certainly didn't want to lose him over something so trivial as her not getting along with his friends! It wasn't as though he went out of his way to associate with her friends, but on the other hand Brock never called her friends sluts or morons either, he was one of the most supportive, amazing men she had ever known, surely he deserved a woman who was all of those things for him too.

She had had enough of waiting for the bang that refused to come. It was fraying her nerves, making it difficult to eat, work or sleep and had reduced her to hiding in dark, secluded places just to cry and scream her frustration out. She had two options; wait for Brock to leave at his own pace, or bite the bullet and bring it up now and have Brock leave tomorrow. Her eyes fell shut as she considered these options. Neither was overly appealing, but she couldn't live on a knife's edge any longer.

She sat primly on the sofa, awaiting Brock's return from work. Ever since Brock had switched up their rosters they only worked one day a week together, and their days off no longer coincided, yet another reminder she didn't need of how strained everything had become.

With an almost obsessive focus she straightened the hem of her skirt, adjusted the lamp and books that occupied the table beside the chair, brushed non-existent lint from her clothes and leaned forward to pick at the oddly coloured balls of fluff on her carpet, flicking them under the chair where she wouldn't be able to see them. She chuckled sadly at the irony; all she and Brock had been doing lately was sweeping things under the rug and out of sight.

"Suzie?"

She shrieked and jumped from her bent position on the chair and found herself looking into the almost-black eyes of the man she knew she couldn't bear to lose for any reason. Taking deep breaths she summoned every ounce of courage she could and stood, squaring her shoulders and schooling her expression to one of determination. "We need to talk."

Brock's eyes widened imperceptibly before he slumped and sighed, "You're right. Just let me…" he trailed off as he moved up the stairs. She listened to him drop his bag to the floor of their bedroom, to the movements he made as he padded around to the bathroom and the eventual soft fall of the water from the shower. He had a very predicable routine, one that she knew by heart. She felt another sharp tug in her chest, a mourning for what was about to end.

Suzie settled herself back down on the chair, tugging futilely at her skirt one again, trying to get it to sit in a straight line just above her knees.

She barely registered Brock entering the room again ten minutes later, clothed in fresh pajamas and running a hand through his damp hair. She surreptitiously took in a deep breath of air through her nose for the familiar, comforting scent of his soap and shampoo. She noticed he had decided to forgo shaving, leaving a slight shadow of stubble to grace his chin. Smoothing his hands down his flannel pants he took the seat beside her, careful to leave a foot of distance between them.

"How was work?" Suzie began awkwardly.

"Busy," he grunted in reply. "We were three people down."

She was taken aback. "Why didn't you call me in? I wasn't doing anything today."

He didn't say a word and she didn't blame him for it; they both knew why he didn't ask her to come in.

"Look, Suzie," Brock began with a sigh, bouncing his leg nervously. "Is this really a conversation you want to have right now?"

"If not now then when?" she cried, "I can't wait anymore Brock! I can't take wondering if today or tomorrow is going to be my last day with you and if that's the case, then for the love of all that is good, please do it now so I won't have to worry anymore! Just tell me Brock; is this it?"

Brock's rested his elbows on his knees and cradled his head in his hands. "I don't even know anymore Suzie. I wake up thinking one thing and by the time I go to sleep at night I'm thinking something different."

"Is there any hope at all?" she asked quietly.

"There's always hope," he replied. "I'm just not sure if it means anything."

"Please Brock!" She looked at him imploringly, reaching her hands across the space between them to rest on his knee. "I know I've hurt you-"

"It's not hurt, Suzie. It's the complete and utter lack of respect! Ash, Gary and Misty, they aren't my friends, they're my _family _and I love them as my brothers and sister. You insulting them for their personal issues and begging me for a scrap of gossip doesn't hurt me; it makes me angry that I could be so stupid as to be with someone as incredibly shallow and vapid as you. I mean," he stood up now, so lost in his rant that he began to pace at such a speed one might worry that he might wear a hole in the carpet. "You are so stuck on your first impressions of Ash as a ten year old and won't even give him the time of day to see him as anything else, Misty you seem so determined to see strung up in the centre of town that you won't even bother hearing what she had to say for herself and as for Gary… I know you were at least a little bit friendly with him at one point but now you judge him as though his loving Misty is some sort of hideous character defect! And then you go ahead and tell me these things and act as though I'm the overreacting idiot when I don't agree so I'm telling you right now, regardless of how this ends, they will always be in my life and I really don't give a fuck what you think."

She winced at the profanity as he paused to regain his breath. Normally he never swore around her.

"I love you Suzie," he panted, slowly turning to look at her once more. "And I always will, but it's up to you, not me, if you want to stay. If you think you can stay without falling back into your old patterns."

"Of course I want to stay!" she declared as she fought back tears of enormous relief. "I don't want to lose you Brock, I love you way too much, just please, what do I have to do?"

He shrugged and sat back down, slightly closer this time, "Just give them a chance without your prejudice clouding your judgment of them, stop being so damn petty and please stop making me tell you everything. It would mean the world to me if you could get along with them, but if it doesn't work you don't have to see them, just like I don't really see your friends."

She nodded her head vigorously, "For you I'll try." She cringed inwardly at how like a pathetically lovesick little girl she sounded, regardless of whether it was true or not. "I'll make the effort."

"I'm glad." He took her hands in his and placed warm kisses along her knuckles. "My friends or your friends are too silly a thing to argue about Suzie, I love you too much to let something so stupid get in our way."

She nodded again, letting the tears fall this time as he brushed her hair back with his fingers and kissed after every last one. "I love you too, and I'm sorry."

He pulled back with a breathtakingly sexy grin. "I'm sorry too. Why don't you go wait upstairs?" He cast an almost lecherous wink her way as his fingers trailed up and down her arm, feeling the goosebumps break out under his touch. "You can show me how sorry you are."

"What about you?" she asked breathlessly as she took slow steps towards the staircase.

"Just give me a minute." He smiled and watched her disappear up the stairs, her eyes keeping contact with his until the last possible moment. As soon as she was gone he let out a sigh of relief; the past couple of weeks had been killing him with the need to get everything out in the open and now that it was he couldn't believe how much lighter he felt. With a silent whoop of joy (make-up sex was possibly the best kind in his opinion) he ran to the kitchen and bolted down a sandwich so quickly even he was surprised he didn't choke to death. As he turned to gallop up the stairs he heard the loud vibrating of his phone on the kitchen counter. He stared at it for far longer than should have been necessary before finally deciding to just answer otherwise the other person would probably keep calling all damn night if he didn't. One glance at the caller id told him that his assumption likely would have been true. He clicked the button and brought the phone to his ear.

"Gary?" he spoke into the phone. "To what do I owe this terrible inconvenience?"

"_Afternoon, Brock!" H_e could just about hear his friends' happy grin but opted not to question his tone right now. _"__I'm going to need your help with something."_

He sighed melodramatically and cast a wistful look in the direction of the stairs, "With what?"

This time he swore he could hear the smirk, _"__Something big."_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

**AN: **Ashamed to admit that I didn't particularly care about the Brock and Suzie argument, so I apologise that it isn't that good. Anyway, I want to thank everyone who has been reviewing. I am so very sorry I haven't been replying to you all personally but please understand that between writing these chapters (which is normally done in the dead of night these days), my coursework, my crocheting and sewing commissions and other stuff, I just don't have the time right now to be doing so. Know that every review is appreciated though, and please keep them coming! Oh, and in your review, do me a favour; obviously this in an M rated EgoShipping story that will have a happy ending (don't call foul, you knew what this was!) and as such, there will be another lemon soon-ish, so readers' call- would you rather see hot, desperate 'I've missed this so much' wall sex or slow romantic sex or do you even think one is needed at all? I can go either way, but there'll only be one! I'm quite partial to the wall, but it's your call!


	13. Temptation

Hello all :) Sorry for the wait folks, this was a surprisingly tricky chapter to write, and as such it's a tad shorter than normal. Two more chapters after this, though I'm still undecided on whether or not an epilogue is in order, so let's go!

**DISCLAIMER: **You know, I still laugh at the need to write one of these. Seriously, to me it's one of the funniest things in the world. In case it wasn't obvious enough already, I'm not affiliated in any way with the Pokémon franchise, though I'd seriously consider marrying my way in…

'To the Happy Couple'

Chapter 13: 'Temptation'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

Brock had absolutely no idea what to make of Gary's plan. He froze with his steaming cup of coffee mid-way to his mouth as Gary looked on, his signature smug smirk firmly in place at having elicited such a reaction in the older man.

"Are you joking?" Brock asked mildly after the initial shock had worn off.

"Why would I be?" Gary replied, taking a bite of the toasted bagel on his plate and chewing it thoughtfully. "If it hadn't been for certain… occurrences, this would have been official a long time ago."

"Yeah, I know, but…" Brock took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders until they clicked back into place. "It doesn't feel too soon to you?"

He shook his head with a small grin. "Not at all. I don't think I've ever been more sure of anything in my life. You forget Brock; I've had a very long time to think on this. Besides, she and I kissed yesterday."

"Oh, well doesn't that change everything," Brock deadpanned. "You kissed, so this must be the right course of action."

Gary rolled his eyes, "I'm just saying that it was all still there. I still feel that crackle of electricity if I so much as touch her hand, and I still feel that same overwhelming sense of wholeness… _rightness_ when I'm with her. Nothing between us physically has changed."

"But so much has changed emotionally with the two of you," Brock stated wisely. "You've both completely fucked each other around. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the two of you sorting your stuff out, but what happened isn't the sort of thing that just goes away after a few months. You yourself admitted you had trouble trusting her now. Look, I care a lot about you both; I don't want to see you guys making the wrong decision over some half-baked conclusion you've come to after a single kiss. I mean," he leaned forward, returning his cup of tea to its saucer, "What if you went through with all of this thinking it was what you wanted only to come out six months later wishing you'd waited longer because you just don't love her like you thought you did? What then?"

"I think that if everyone thought like you," Gary began in a slow, almost condescending drawl, "Nothing in the world would ever get done. We'd all be sitting around too afraid to take the first steps and we would all suffer for it."

"I should have known you'd be the one to stand up for impulsivity," Brock returned with a wry smile. "But surely you get what I mean? It wouldn't be fair to either of you if down the line you realised you'd both changed too much for anything permanent between the two of you to work."

Gary shook his head again, smiling appreciatively, "I hear what you're saying, and I do think you have a point; however I don't think it applies here. I haven't felt so sure of anything in my entire life."

"Well, if you're sure then I'm happy for you," Brock said amiably. "Have you given any thought to how you're going to do this?"

"I was considering sticking it up Ashy boy's arse and doing it at his wedding reception, but something tells me she wouldn't go for that."

"Hmm, probably not," Brock agreed musingly. "Misty is many things but she's not vindictive, though it'll be a nice setting, you'll both be dressed for the occasion, you could definitely make it work to your favour. Any other ideas?"

"Nothing much yet. I could take her to the Cape but that seems way too clichéd," he said with a slight shudder. "Besides, it gets drafty there in the evening with that sea breeze, and that's when it looks nicest apparently, you get the sunset hitting the water just right and everything."

Brock hid his grin behind his teacup, "She would probably like that, though. It's a cliché for a reason."

"Well pardon me for wanting this to be original!" Gary huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, the bagel long forgotten.

"Do you have the-"

"Not yet," he cut in. "I was actually sort of hoping you could help me with that."

Brock smiled, "I'd be happy to, but I don't know why you think I'd be an authority on her taste in jewelry, there'd have to be someone better you could ask, your sister or even Leaf for a female perspective."

"My sister is too loved up with her husband to even consider coming up for air right now, and I don't think Leaf and I will be on speaking terms for a while, so I think that's out," Gary said flatly. "I thought about asking Misty's sisters too, but I hate them too much to spend any sort of extended period of time with them, so that's out too."

"Such a happy family you'll all be," Brock said sarcastically.

"Speaking of big, happy families," Gary began, scooting his chair closer and closer to where Brock was seated opposite him, watching him carefully with a raised eyebrow as he dragged the chair loudly across the tiled floor.

"Couldn't just get up rather than do that?" he asked exasperatedly once Gary reached his destination. "There's a perfectly good seat right here."

"No, I enjoy the theatrics too much. Anyway," He pulled his hand back and landed a firm swat at the side of Brock's head.

"_Fuck!_" Brock cursed loudly, jumping out of Gary's reach before he could land another hit. "What the hell was that for?"

"What was that for?" Gary repeated sarcastically. "Why on earth Brock, did you think it would be a good idea for Misty and I to have starring roles at Ash and Leaf's wedding?"

"What? You're pissy about _that_?" Brock grumbled, rubbing at his sore spot.

"Seriously, what the hell got into that skull of yours to make you think that would be an even passably good idea?"

"I thought you guys could use some closure! I know you and Ash don't get along anymore but I figured if you and Misty sat and watched this all come to a definitive end then it might be good for you!"

"With what I'm planning to do Brock, shouldn't that be indicator enough that I have all the closure I could ever want?"

"Then how about to be polite?" Brock deadpanned. "Because at the end of the day you did spend five years with Leaf, and long before all this shit happened you and Ash were best friends. Because nothing like that just goes away, no matter how much you want it to. Because I know for a fact that Misty will be there and no one wants to dance alone at their ex's wedding. Take your pick, they all seem like great reasons to me."

Gary quirked an eyebrow and leaned back in his seat, "You know for a fact that Misty will go?"

Brock threw up his arms in frustration, "Have you learned nothing? Misty would do anything for Ash! If Ash asked her to walk off the top of Tohjo Falls you can bet your arse she'll do it! If he asks her to come to his wedding, she'll do it. If not for any other reason you should be going to this wedding for her since you've decided to bind her to you for all eternity."

"Hmm… bound to me… sounds terribly antiquated doesn't it?"

"I don't know why you bother asking me for advice," Brock muttered as he shook his head. "You only hear what you want to hear."

"Maybe so, but what I do hear is usually put to good use."

"So will you go to this wedding? Setting aside Ash and Leaf and anything else that influenced you before, would you go for Misty?"

"I'll go to the reception," Gary bargained. "I refuse to be there for the ceremony though." He held up his hand as Brock opened his mouth to argue. "I will not watch them marry," he said firmly in a tone that brokered no argument. "We aren't friends; we aren't anything anymore, I don't owe them a damn thing. I can't forgive Ash for what happened and as for Leaf, I see no reason why I should watch the woman who cheated on me marry a man I hate, much less give her away to him. For all it would interest me I might as well watch grass grow."

"Point taken," Brock nodded. "Sorry for the trouble then; Ash said Leaf worked herself into a bit of a state trying to get you to agree, he seems to think pregnancy has addled her brain since she seems so adamant that you have to do this for her."

"I would disagree," Gary said with a grimace.

"And I'm sure you told her so; loudly and harshly too if I know you at all."

Gary brought a hand up to rub his eyes, "Brock," he began in a tone more akin to a groan. "You know better than most what I've been like these past few years. The real me as good as died; I was no better than a doormat, letting everyone walk all over me. My self-esteem took a dive the likes of which I've never seen so why now, when I finally grow a spine and turn around and tell everyone to fuck off for once, does everyone suddenly have such a problem with it? Why is that?"

"I guess Leaf just thinks differently," Brock replied with a nonchalant shrug. "She's an inherently gentle person, and despite everything she doesn't want anyone hurt or angry or holding grudges." He looked at Gary pointedly, waiting for a physical reaction to those words that never came.

"There might come a time where Leaf and I can reach some sort of understanding, but as far as Ash goes I would say that it's a bit fucking late for that."

"Brock?" a coy, sing-song voice sounded from the stairs. "Are you coming back? I just read about an interesting position I think you'd– _Oh God_!"

Gary and Brock turned in their seats to see Suzie standing in the doorway, clad in only a white shirt just long enough to hide what needed to be hidden with the top four buttons undone to show a rather indecent amount of cleavage. Upon seeing Gary she let out a shriek and clutched the top of the shirt together at her throat and twisted her legs together as though it would help the situation as she began to blush so forcefully she appeared to almost glow pink.

"Gary!" she squeaked, her eyes wide. "What are you doing here?"

Gary smirked, enjoying her discomfort thoroughly, "Having a chat with Brock here," he drawled, gesturing over to Brock who had buried his head in his hands so only the bright pink tips of his ears were visible. "What are you doing?"

"I've got…a…um." She gulped audibly and cleared her throat. "I have something… for Brock… upstairs..."

"I'm sure you do," Gary replied smoothly. "We'll be done in a bit; you'll have him back to do with what you will soon enough."

"Oh," she murmured, uncrossing her legs and chewing her bottom lip as she tugged at the hem of the hopelessly immodest shirt. "Well… how have you been?"

Gary raised an eyebrow; he could just about smell the effort that was going in to her words and hear the cogs of her mind turning as they pored over what to say next, weighing each word in turn and gauging its suitability for the situation. "I'm fine," he replied slowly, turning to Brock who was imperceptibly shaking his head, repeating his inner mantra of 'go back upstairs, go back upstairs' over and over again. "How are you?"

"Good!" she replied quickly, nodding her head furiously. "Great even, what about you?"

Gary's lips curled into another amused smirk as Brock began to subtly bang his forehead into the bench beneath him, his mutterings coming faster and louder, sounding far more like hissing than any other kind of coherent thought. "You already asked me that."

"Oh! Right, right." She gave an awkward little laugh and shook her head. "Sorry."

"Don't be," he returned with a slow, indulgent smile. "Now, is there anything else I can help you with?"

It seemed as though it only then clicked for Suzie that she was in fact standing near naked in the kitchen trying to hold a very shaky conversation with her boyfriends' best friend while her boyfriend was right there. An odd look of horror crossed her face and she suddenly looked down to where her hands were still playing with the hem of the shirt and back up again to look between Gary and Brock and around the room. A soft 'eep!' escaped her lips as she turned from the room and bolted up the stairs without another word as quickly as her slender legs would carry her.

"So," Gary began slyly as soon as Suzie was out of earshot. "I guess you got that sorted out then?"

Brock groaned and lifted his head from his crossed arms. "I suppose you could say that," he replied slowly, looking to Gary for any hint of his thoughts on the matter. "Does that bother you? I know you and her… don't exactly get along."

Gary snorted and pushed away from the bench to stand. "Why should it? You're the one who loves her, not me."

"Thank God for that," Brock muttered, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to neaten the strands after his particularly vicious tugging. Gary threw his head back and rolled his eyes dramatically.

"If you're happy, then I'm happy for you," he said firmly. "Besides, I would have been pissed if all those times you talked to me about it amounted to nothing."

"She's promised to try and make an effort with you guys."

"Is that what that was?" he questioned cheekily with a quick glance towards the stairs.

"If she's going to make an effort then so do you," Brock said warningly. "Don't think I didn't hear that argument the two of you had that day you came over after that storm."

Gary had the decency to appear sheepish, "I meant what I said to her that day," he admitted slowly. "And I suppose in some ways you did see her for what she was, but as I said before, if you're happy then I'm happy for you. Whether or not you should or shouldn't be with her isn't for me to say."

"Good," Brock said with a definitive nod. "Now get out."

Gary laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "Far be it from me to intrude on your alone time with your woman."

"You already have," Brock deadpanned as he none too gently steered Gary by the shoulders to the front door. "Several times in fact."

"Consider it payback in full for that night you walked in on me and Misty after that ball."

Brock shuddered at the memory of walking in on the woman he considered his sister riding Gary like a goddamned Rapidash that, no matter how much he drank, seemed content to remain etched in his brain as though burned in. Slightly less vivid, though no less mortifying, was the memory of Misty's shriek as she toppled from Gary's lap and Gary's following loud laughter as he backed out of the room as quickly as he could. "You saying shit like that almost makes me think you want me thinking of you naked when I go back to Suzie," he muttered as they reached the front door.

"You could do worse; I assure you it's the fantasy of many women, and probably more than a few men too."

Brock slowed to a stop and feigned a depressed sigh, "And the sad unfortunate truth here is that that is probably true."

"You know," Gary began, turning to face Brock with a sly smirk on his face, "I actually think you'd rather stand here and think about how I factor into the sex lives of other instead of indulging your own."

With a chuckle and a shake of his head Brock pushed Gary indelicately through the open door, watching with satisfaction as he stumbled, reaching for the railing on the front steps to stay upright and fixing him with a glare.

"Just think about what you're about to do Gary," he warned. "I care about you both and believe me, if you fuck this up while everything is in such a fragile state of flux then believe me, I'll make you pay."

"Why, Brock!" Gary clutched a hand to his heart in mock hurt. "When have you ever known me to make stupid, ill-informed decisions?"

Brock grinned, "You don't really want me to answer that do you?" And with that the door slammed shut, and the only audible sounds became those of the gentle breeze, the birds singing in the trees and the firm, insistent, enthusiastic footfalls of Brock racing back up the stairs.

**-XXX-**

Even twenty-four hours removed from their kiss, Misty still felt as though she were floating somewhere above the clouds. Whatever negligible little peck she had given in the spirit of keeping both hers and Gary's hopes up was certainly nowhere near enough to keep them going if the events of the day before were any indication. Even now she felt she required something more still; her whole body ached for it. Her only consolation was the knowledge that Gary was probably no better off than she was.

Buried in paperwork that formed stacks almost as tall as she was, Misty welcomed the distraction her rampant imagination and vivid thoughts offered, opting to close her eyes and lose herself in the fleeting, phantom sensations of Gary's lips and hands all over her rather than the documentation outlining some stuffy new Gym regulations before her.

She doubted she could ever thank Leaf enough for her words the day before. A different perspective, or perhaps even simply a feminine perspective, turned out to be exactly what she needed. Waking up on the couch to find Gary already next to her, their short conversation and the perfect kiss that had followed… it was the closest Misty had felt to happy in a long, long time.

With a sigh she opened her eyes again, shaking the image of Gary looming above her from her mind as she poised her pen to the paper in front of her once more, idly making swirling notes in the page margins and signing her name with a dramatic flourish where indicated since there was very little else in her day that gave her more pleasure than to make her writing far more elaborate and loopy than necessary just to annoy those above her with its borderline illegibility.

Throwing her pen down to the desk she extended her arms overhead and yawned deeply, stretching high above her head and feeling her shoulders click back into place with a small groan of satisfaction. Glancing at the little clock at the edge of her desk she noted with disdain that she had been sitting at her tiny desk, in her tiny chair in her tiny office for almost four hours, and she was still nowhere close to finishing everything that needed to be done. The stack of papers at her left elbow were due back with League officials the following morning, the pile in front of her with her almost theatrical notes and signatures were due later that afternoon, and she hadn't made a solid dent in any of them. Finally, when the words before her swirled to the point that they no longer made sense, Misty leaned forward, landing with a muffled thump on the paper in front of her with a heavy sigh.

"I wasn't sure of I'd find you here or not," a familiar voice commented from the door.

Not looking up from the desk, she recognised the voice and smirked, "I'm falling behind," she replied wryly. "Why I continually agree to put everything aside for the men in my life I'll never know."

"Aw, you love us and you know it," he said as he moved further into the room, though she could hear the smile in his voice. When Misty heard the chair opposite her scraping across the floor she looked up, not at all surprised at the state of his face.

"So that's what Gary meant by 'an understanding'," she said with a wink, taking in Ash's two black eyes and bruised nose as he removed his sunglasses and folded them before placing them in his pocket.

"Ha ha," he retorted dryly, sitting in the pulled out seat. "I came to see how you were doing; you were fast asleep when Leaf and I left and Gary… he wasn't in the best mood."

"I'm fine," she replied with a shrug, picking up her pen again with an inward sigh and continuing with her flamboyant scribbling. "I guess Gary must have calmed down after you left since he was fine when I woke up, but thank you for asking anyway."

"He didn't say… or do anything then?"

Misty looked over at him oddly, "Of course not."

"Yeah," he rubbed the back of his neck distractedly. "I didn't think he would."

"Is there something you want Ash?" She threw the pen down again and leaned forward. "You seem preoccupied."

"I just," he stood, reaching a hand into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulling out an ivory coloured square of thick card and placing it on the stack of paper before sitting back down again. "I just wanted to give you this, invite you properly."

Misty glanced down at the invitation and raised an eyebrow. "Next week?" she questioned. "Leaf said it'd be next month."

"Yeah, well Professor Ivy had a sudden change of plans and can only come down to officiate next week instead of next month so we took it. Did you know she's gay?"

Misty laughed and brushed an unruly strand of hair behind her ear, "No I didn't, but it does kind of explain those oddly androgynous assistants she had, not to mention why Brock went fetal on us every time we mentioned her name,"

"That's what I thought too," Ash said with a chuckle, "Anyway, Leaf is tired of waiting, five months pregnant and all. I think she just wants to do this while, in her words, she can still pass her bump off as 'cute' and fit into her dress."

"Not even going to bother fighting her on that, then?"

"I think it's well established that I hold no sway over that woman."

"Are you…" she trailed off hesitantly, searching for the most appropriate words to use, "Are you absolutely certain this is what you want? You are under no obligation whatsoever to get married just because there's a baby involved."

Ash took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling, "You know, for the longest time, I was so sure it was all a mistake. I care about Leaf, and I have so much fun with her, but love didn't come right away, even when I found out she was pregnant. Even then it was more of a fondness, but at the time I felt like I had to do the honourable thing."

"Marry her, you mean?"

He looked back at her with a small smile, "I'm old-fashioned like that."

"Still though, that's not an excuse. If this isn't what you want then what the hell are you doing?"

"Things changed over the past few months," he said softly, leaning forward and picking up a picture of himself, Misty and Brock from years ago from the desk, tracing his figures over the captured figures almost reverently. "As Leaf grew with the baby there was nothing else to think of but a future with her and our daughter. The more I thought about it, the more appealing it became, and the more time I spent with her, the more I felt myself falling." He shrugged, "It didn't happen overnight, and it certainly wasn't something that I thought would happen at the beginning of all this, but I do love Leaf, I want to marry her and I want to do right by my daughter and give her a proper family like I never had."

"Oh Ash," Misty whispered. "It's not the same though; your dad died when you were a baby, he didn't ditch you. They're different scenarios entirely."

He shifted uncomfortably, "I know that," he said slowly, quietly. "But I saw how much it affected my mum not having my dad there. I know mum didn't have a choice in being a single parent but I'm not going to do that to Leaf. I will be there for my daughter, and I will be there for Leaf."

"Well," Misty remarked, leaning back in her seat. "I'm impressed Ash; who knew you could be so mature?"

"I'm learning," he replied dryly. "Besides, it wasn't a hard decision to make in the end. I've always thought about being a dad; for a very long time I actually thought it'd be to your kids."

"Seriously?" she gasped, "You actually thought about having a family with me?"

He scoffed, "Misty, I'd been in love with you since I was thirteen so yes, the thought that maybe we'd have a family one day did cross my mind a time or two."

She shook her head with a small smile, "That probably shouldn't be so surprising."

"It's not like it matters anymore anyway," he said dismissively. "You're going your way, I'm going mine. They just happen to be in opposite directions now. I'm getting my family and yes, it's coming from a different place to what I expected, but I don't want it any less because of that. Life's turning out to be pretty surprising actually."

Misty twirled the thick invitation between her fingers, "You're serious about this, aren't you?"

Ash laughed and put the photo back where it belonged, "What else do I need to do to convince you?"

"Oh, I don't know," she replied, tapping her chin in feigned thoughtfulness. "Some sort of ritualistic blood-letting should do it." She smirked at his paling face and laughed. "I'm kidding Ash, you've convinced me already. You don't need to try so hard."

"So," he began after a few moments of comfortable silence. "Will you come?"

"I don't know if I should Ash," she said tentatively. "I don't really have a place there."

"Just so you know, I don't agree with what Leaf and Brock wanted. It was unreasonable to assume that you or Gary would even want to take part and probably really rude for us to even ask."

"Thank you, but you ought to know that even inviting the bride and groom's ex's to a wedding is also incredibly rude."

"To some maybe, but I'd still like you there, even if you're just standing at the back. I know that past six months or so have been… messy to say the least, but it doesn't change the fact that you've been a constant in my life since I was ten."

Misty sighed, feeling her resolve weakening, "You know, one day I'm really going to have to learn to tell you to just shove it up your arse."

"Misty…" he trailed off, standing up suddenly and moving to stand behind his chair. "I don't want you to be there because you feel obligated; I want you there only if you'd like to come. If you don't then I won't hold it against you."

"Answer me this," Misty leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands. "Would you willingly come to a wedding between Gary and me?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation.

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Why?"

"Because you're my best friend, marrying Gary is something that would make you happy and if you asked me to be there then I would. I would want to be there."

"Even knowing that Gary most likely wouldn't want you there?"

"If you asked me then I wouldn't be there for Gary would I? I'd be there for you."

"You don't think it would be cruel or sadistic of me to want you to watch me marry someone that wasn't you after being with you for so long?"

"I'm with Leaf though, and happy that way," he pointed out with a smile. "And you'd be happy with Gary, or whoever else it is you plan on marrying. I think Leaf asking you and Gary to be at our sides when we marry was a bit rough, but just asking you to be there, that's not too much, is it?"

"I guess not," Misty murmured to herself. "How many people are coming?" she asked as he sat back down.

"Between the two of us we sent about a hundred invitations, but with the late notice and how the news of us even being together… spread as it did, we aren't expecting many people."

"I guess not," she replied, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "I'll give it some thought Ash, but I guarantee nothing."

He nodded understandingly, "That's all I ask."

He stood again, stretching his arms high above his head as Misty wriggled in her seat to get more comfortable. "I'll see you around Mist, hopefully before the wedding."

"Maybe you, Brock and I should get together and do something before your big day since I doubt you're doing the whole Buck's Night thing,"

Ash smiled and leaned on the doorjamb, "You know, I'd like that a lot."

She grinned and nodded, "I'll let Brock know and we can pull something together."

"Let me know when you do." He pushed off from the door and gave a small wave. "See ya Mist."

"Hey," she called after him, waiting for him to poke his head back around the door. "Where's Pikachu these days? I haven't seen him in ages."

He smiled sadly, "He's getting on Misty. He doesn't have the strength to come with me everywhere anymore."

"But…" she stammered, "but he was fine before you moved out…"

"I guess it's catching up with him. He's fine for now though, don't worry. He's fine when I drive, but the walks take their toll a bit nowadays, and I certainly don't use him in battles anymore."

She wiped away a lone tear that made its way down her cheek, "Are you still going to use him as your ring-bearer like you planned?"

He shook his head with a small smirk, "It might sound crazy to you Mist, but that was for a wedding I planned when I thought I was marrying you. Nothing of what we planned is in my wedding to Leaf, they're separate entities entirely."

"It's not crazy at all Ash," she said quietly, rather touched he would think of her like that. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," he replied, flicking her another wave and disappearing from her tiny office. Sighing, and rubbing her eyes, she took the invitation and placed it carefully in her top drawer, content to not have to think about it for the time being. Instead she picked up her pen again and, with renewed vigour… pushed the stack of papers off the side of her desk and into the waiting bin below.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

**AN: **Ah, it was such a joy to write some Brock and Gary scenes again!

Oh, and was there any particular reason the last chapter only got 3 reviews? I really thought you guys would like it… disappointing… only my personal hatred of those who hold their chapters hostage for reviews kept me from not posting this until I got more so PLEASE! Please leave a review!

Now, a note to those concerned few; yes, the characters are OOC, as is normal when one takes them out of an anime where we know them as kids and whacks them into a story where they're in their twenties with complex personal and social lives. This was explicitly stated at the beginning of the story so you must have known what you were signing up for when you started reading, and it is acknowledged and explained within the story many, many times. If they were fully in character with the emotional maturity of the ten year olds we know them as then this story wouldn't work and would be done in three chapters. Furthermore; _**FAN**_ FICTION! And Pokémon fan fiction at that! How based in reality can this possibly be when I'm referencing fictional creatures and characters every other sentence? Just roll with it!


	14. Celebration, Part I

Hello again everyone! Apologies again about the wait; lots of assignments all due within days of each other – I don't know how real university students do it… anyway, here's a nice, long update (actually the longest update of this story so far!) for you all to make up for it. Oh, and beware the non-explicit (ish!) lime and implied lemon in the third part that I swear to God wrote itself.

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Pokémon or any affiliated subsidiaries, but I do own Pokémon X now!

'To the Happy Couple'

Chapter 14: 'Celebration, Part I'

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

"Nervous about tomorrow?" Misty asked with a small smile, watching as Ash vigourously rubbed the back of his neck while his leg bounced fretfully beneath the table.

"A little," he replied with a slight nod, the change in angle casting light on his upper lip which she could see was visibly dotted in sweat. "I mean, everything changes tomorrow."

"What the hell do you mean, it changes?" Misty scoffed. "You're already living together, sleeping together, you have a baby on the way. All that's going to change is her last name and the fact that you'll actually be able to call her your wife, not your girlfriend."

"Yeah, but…" he squirmed in his seat, huffing in frustration every now and then a he tried to find the words he wanted. "Now it's… official, I guess. Now we actually _can_ be doing those other things."

She snorted and crossed her arms, leaning back in her seat and regarding him with a wry smirk. "And what, may I ask, made you throw your convictions out the window before now?"

"A feeling like maybe I ought to follow through with what I start."

Misty rolled her eyes and leaned forward, plucking a nut from the bowl in front of her and popping in her mouth. "Saying things like that that doesn't fill me with much confidence about your impending nuptials," she remarked dryly.

Ash gave a small smile and shook his head, "I didn't mean that quite how it sounded."

She shrugged, taking another nut from the bowl. "You don't need to convince me," she said when she finished chewing. "I know what you meant and I believe you. Besides, you can hardly wriggle your way out of it now, can you?"

"Gee, thanks. Your vote of confidence is inspiring," Ash deadpanned.

"I do what I can," Misty replied with a mock-pompous air as they turned to watch Brock battle through the crowd of people back to their table, holding three drinks in hand and miraculously not spilling a drop.

"I have to tell you Ash," Brock began as he set the three glasses down on the table and pushed them to their respective places before taking a seat himself, "This is not quite how I thought we'd be spending your last night as a single man."

"Just because he isn't married yet, doesn't mean he's single Brock," Misty chided primly as she took a small sip of her drink, her features scrunching up in distaste as she swallowed. "Ugh! What the hell did you get us?" she asked, sniffing at the liquid.

"Celadon's finest!" Brock exclaimed, taking a deep gulp of his own drink. "Suzie and I went to lunch at the brewery there a few days ago. I really like it!"

"Hate to break it to you Brock," Ash said with a grimace as he set his glass down. "But this stuff is horrible." He picked up the glass again and held it up to the muted yellow light and squinted at it. "And green."

"Of course it is!" Brock boomed jovially over the noise of the crowded pub. "It's from _Celadon_! It's flavoured and coloured with chlorophyll! It's actually good for you! Completely organic too!"

Ash and Misty exchanged a look of thinly veiled disgust and upended their glasses into a potted plant by their table to a pitiful whine from Brock.

"Only you Brock," Ash muttered as he shook his head. "Chlorophyll flavoured beer… what a joke!"

"I'll bet whatever you want Erika had a hand in it too," Misty said with a smirk. "She always was a little odd, organic this and all-natural that. That attitude probably extends to alcohol too."

Ash laughed, "Probably. You remember when we visited her Gym the first time?"

"Of course I do!" Misty leaned over the table and squeezed his cheek. "I've never seen you look as beautiful as you were that day!"

He playfully shoved her off and rubbed his cheek, "Don't remind me," he said with a groan. "That was quite possibly the most humiliating day of my life!"

She laughed and took a small handful of nuts from the dish at the centre of the table, "Since you're getting married tomorrow and one of my best friends I won't list the other situations you got yourself into that were far more humiliating than having to wear a dress."

"Oh, I don't know Misty," Brock began impishly. "I think that's all the more reason to humiliate him a little. God knows after he's married with a kid we won't have time to fritter away on such things anymore."

"Hmm, fair point. And I suppose if this were a proper bucks' night he'd be doing something highly embarrassing anyway, wouldn't he?" she posed, tapping her chin in mock thought.

Brock grinned at the quickly paling visage of their younger friend and pressed on, "More than likely, yes."

"And I'll also assume that if we don't do this for him, in a civilized fashion and like friends should, he'll find some other way which will undoubtedly get back to Leaf and possibly lead to nasty rumours and injury, yes?"

"Right again."

"When exactly did this become 'let's gang up on Ash' night?" Ash asked exasperatedly.

"Then I see no reason why we shouldn't do this for you Ash," Misty continued with a wicked glint in her eye as though Ash hadn't said a word. "Would you like to do the honours Brock?"

"Happy to Misty," he said with a shark-like grin. "Let's see… you overslept on your first day of becoming a Pokémon trainer. Come on Ash, you'd looked forward to that moment for how long exactly? And you bloody overslept?"

"I'd like to think that was fate," Ash replied mildly, dignity still intact for the moment. "If I hadn't overslept I never would've gotten Pikachu."

"You can identify any Pokémon on television or in a picture, but not in the wild," Misty added deviously.

"Pardon me for losing myself in the excitement!" Ash defended. "My mind goes a little blank when I'm out there!"

"Every time though Ash?" Brock prodded, "Really?"

"Ooh! You lost to me in the Whirl Cup!" Misty exclaimed excitedly. "Ash, we've known each other how long? Why didn't it occur to you that my Psyduck is badass when things grab or otherwise bash its head?"

"Again, got caught up in the excitement," he said with a shrug. "That and I have no problem admitting that at the time I was overconfident and cocky, thinking you were an easy beat. Clearly though I was wrong, I wasn't thinking."

"Brock, I don't think this is working," Misty said with a sidelong glance. "He's got a good answer for everything."

"Give it time Misty," Brock replied, eyeing Ash with a smirk. "We'll get him eventually. Now, let's see… you seem to have no concept of type advantage."

"Maybe I just believe in my Pokémon and their abilities," he said diplomatically. "After all, Pikachu _did_ get the job done with your Onix, didn't he?"

"You were always fooled by Team Rocket, no matter how shaky and outright weird their disguises were!"

"True," Ash conceded with a nod. "But in my defense, so were you."

"In Kanto you only really won two out of the eight badges! Three if I'm being super generous."

"I might not have won them, but I do think I earned them, and all the leaders agreed, hence my full set."

"Brock," Misty said with a smile, "You're done. You can't get him this way. Ease up on the surprisingly potent green stuff and stop being an arsehole."

"I'm not even getting a blush or a stutter!" Brock moaned, purposefully ignoring Misty and finishing his drink, slamming the glass back down decisively. "I'm getting another. Anyone else want anything?"

"Anything that isn't that green crap," Misty and Ash chorused.

With a mock salute Brock sauntered back through the crowd towards the bar. They watched as he moved with a light sway, calling into question exactly how many drinks he may have had before either of them had arrived.

"I worry about him sometimes," Misty sighed. "He's an idiot when he drinks. I wonder how many he had before we got here?"

Ash snorted and leaned back, crossing his legs at his ankles. "And he was worried about what _I_ might do."

"You know, I guess I never really appreciated the sort of trainer you were back in the day," she said musingly. "You might have been a little wannabe, but you were impressive when you wanted to be."

"I had my moments," he replied modestly. "I had a lot of help along the way, though, some good teachers."

Misty smirked, "I think there was a compliment for me in the somewhere!"

With a raised eyebrow Ash laughed, "You were my first teacher. You taught me so much of what I know, and I don't have a problem admitting that I really don't think I'd be where I am if I hadn't had you." He turned and winked at her cheekily, "Even if you weren't the most supportive or patient of teachers."

She snorted, "Tough love was what that was. You wouldn't have paid any attention if I'd coddled you."

"Probably not," he agreed. "But still, I don't think I ever thanked you for all the help you gave me."

"Your first League win was thanks enough. I would have been angry if all those years hadn't amounted to anything."

"And only eight years too late," he smirked.

"I really thought you had it in Sinnoh," she admitted. "I watched that tournament from home and I really thought you'd win. I mean, that battle with Paul was probably more impressive than the one you had with Gary during the Silver Conference, but then you faced that Tobias guy with that Darkrai… you did so well to get past that, then he brings out a _Latios_ of all bloody things…" she paused and took a deep breath, always becoming borderline inconsolably incensed whenever she thought of that damn tournament. "You should have won," she told him seriously. "It wasn't fair for that guy to enter with such a ridiculously overpowered team. Though it kinda makes you wonder what else he would have bought out had it continued."

Ash nodded slowly. "I wondered that myself but I don't think Tobias would have said anything, no matter how I might have asked. If I had known I could bring legendries into the mix," he chuckled ruefully, "Well, I had heaps of reinforcements I could have called in from over the years."

Misty laughed and shook her head. "Probably better if we don't dwell on that too much."

"Believe me," Ash said earnestly, "I get annoyed thinking about it too, but there isn't much I can do now, and besides, I've won that tournament since and many others too."

"So modest," she grinned.

"I'd like to think that after all this time I've earned the right to be a little cocky about my accomplishments."

"You never were before," she pointed out.

"I must have been conditioned not to brag in your presence," he suggested with a wry grin. "Any time you thought my head was getting a little big for the rest of me you'd always swat me or something,"

"So what's changed now?"

"I'm not trying to sleep with you anymore for one."

"That's just wrong!" Misty shook her head and laughed. "Either way, it's not like I wouldn't have wanted to talk about it, I wasn't there for your wins, you came home after them. I would have liked to have heard about them."

"I suppose that's the sort of thing I had in mind for tonight," he said thoughtfully. "I just kinda wanted to talk and reminisce with you guys."

"Well then, I'm sorry Brock's acting like such a twit."

"I don't know," Ash said musingly. "The night wouldn't be complete without him saying all the wrong things."

"Bummer he isn't single," she remarked almost wistfully. "Could have been fun watching him fail at chatting up women all night."

"Maybe he'll drink enough to forget about Suzie," Ash said, sounding almost hopeful.

"I don't think he could forget her even if he tried," Misty said, looking at the back of Brock's head as he stood in the crowded line at the bar. "Bitch or not, Brock loves Suzie more than anything."

"Doesn't mean I have to like her," Ash muttered petulantly. "It's not as though she's a nice person."

"Fortunately for us Ash, it's not our job to love her, we just have to tolerate her."

"I guess," he grumbled. "I still think Brock could do better."

"Maybe, but really, who cares? So long as Brock is happy it isn't really our business who he's with."

The duo fell silent as they waited for Brock to return, watching the non-existent progress he was making in the line. They glanced idly around their table, watching the various people who came and went through the bar doors, wondering what their lives were like, what they were going home to, how they lived and if indeed any of them were unhappy with their lot in life. It was somewhat morbid past time Misty had often found herself indulging in, a past time she had passed on to Ash during their time together, both of them finding it infinitely more fun at the three year mark of their relationship to make up outrageous stories about the lives of others rather than having to face the unhappy reality of their own.

"Have you thought more about coming tomorrow?" Ash asked suddenly, breaking her out of her reverie.

"I have," she replied tentatively, nibbling at the corner of her bottom lip. "I'm still not sure though."

"I can't force you Mist," he said slowly, "but you ought to know by now what it would mean to me if you did. I know it's probably weird, and maybe even a little fucked up, but you really are my best friend, and I really want you to be there. I don't care if you sit in the back and don't even watch, just seeing your fiery red hair somewhere at the back and knowing you're there would mean everything to me."

"You make it very hard for a girl to say no Ash," she replied laughingly with a shake of her head. "You'll owe me for this."

"A favour in exchange for your attendance at my wedding?" Ash laughed incredulously.

She shrugged, "You're asking me to do something I'm not particularly looking forward to. The least you can do is owe me one. Let's say a favour to be named later."

"And you'll come?" he asked hopefully.

She groaned, letting her forehead fall against the table as she relented. "Fine! I'll make an appearance, but I'm sitting at the back and don't expect me to clap!"

"I wouldn't ask you to clap," he said softly. "Look, I understand why you don't really want to come, I really do, but just keep in mind that it's a favour you're doing for me as your friend, not her. I'm not asking you to suddenly be cool with everything that's happened but you, my best friend, being there would mean everything to me."

She eyed him oddly and gave a smirk eerily similar to Gary's. "You've said that already."

"I know, but I figured you could hear it again." He stood and moved around the table, kneeling in front of her and wrapping his arms around her shoulders in a tight hug. "I do love you Mist. Thank you for doing this for me."

Misty laughed lightly and returned the hug, "I think we both knew I'd end up coming either way."

Ash pulled away from the hug with a broad grin, moving back to his seat. "You can change your mind if you want to. I mean, I'd rather you didn't, but if you really, truly don't want to be there then I won't force you."

"I've already said I'd be there," she said with a melodramatic sigh. "I don't go back on my promises if I can help it."

"I'll owe you whatever you want," he promised. "Seriously, whenever you think of what you want your favour to be, tell me and I'll do it."

"I'm sure I'll come up with something appropriate," she said in a sly tone. "For now though, I just want that damn drink."

"I think he's being served now," Ash said, craning his neck over the crowd of people to find Brock pushing his way through with a triumphant grin on his face. Holding aloft another glass full of the green tinted alcohol and two others that appeared fit for consumption by someone who wanted a bit of a buzz and not feel guilty that the method of choice wasn't a healthy chlorophyll based beverage, he ambled back towards the table and once more pushed each glass to their new respective owners and sat down.

"To the future, I guess," Brock toasted.

"To the future," Ash and Misty responded in unison, lifting their glass to take a sip of their drinks before falling into the conversation Ash wanted to have, happily reminiscing some their happiest memories together before each of them went their separate ways to begin the next chapters of their lives.

**-XXX-**

All in all, Misty had to say it was shaping up to be a beautiful ceremony. The sky was cloudless, the sun shone bright and warm, the grass underfoot was lush and soft, and the flowers that surrounded the edge of the park were bright in colour and in full bloom. It was a perfect day for a wedding.

In a show of solidarity Brock sat beside her in a cluster of chairs towards the back, nursing a hangover he swore the likes of which had never been seen or felt before. While he slipped on a pair of sunglasses and groaned between them she made odd small talk with Suzie, who wore a tight smile to match her tight red dress, and asked predictable and impersonal questions to which Misty gave predictable and impersonal answers. Her eyes swiveled around the surprisingly large crowd full almost entirely of former travelling companions, random acquaintances and other family members she could tell were only there begrudgingly, not to mention the stony faced, skinny bodies that made up Leaf's former contingent of model friends.

It was all quite amusing, she thought to herself with a small smile. Many of those in the crowd were from different regions, a fact she had no idea whether to curse of be thankful for, and all wore expressions of complete and utter bewilderment, as though they believed that there was absolutely no way in hell Ash Ketchum would be marrying Leaf Green! Didn't he know she was with Gary? For that matter, wasn't he with Misty? And what was that they heard about a _baby_ being involved somehow? She listened to these whispers and dealt with the odd stares with an easy smile, explaining the admittedly bizarre turn of events as best she could to those interested and sending them on their way once more. She laughed to herself when she heard a group being led by Max Maple of all people taking bets on how long the marriage ("A shotgun marriage! It has to be!") would last, a laugh that threatened to bubble out audibly on hearing the perpetually moody Paul Ikari put a hundred bucks down on four months, tops.

Delia sat at her spot in the first row of seats dressed in a neat rose-pink tea dress that fell to her knees. She wore a small smile as she watched her son walk unceremoniously up the aisle to take his place at the altar where Felina Ivy was waiting to receive him. As Ash looked down at the crowd his eyes locked with his mothers'. He smiled and mouthed something Misty couldn't make out from her seat as Delia nodded and smiled encouragingly at him. Beside her sat Samuel Oak who looked lost, openly staring around at the scenery to find something that might give him a plausible enough reason to be there like so many others in the crowd were. Sure, they were all friends or acquaintances of the bride and groom individually, but _together_? It was something different entirely.

"Doesn't feel much like a wedding, does it?" Brock said from beside her, tipping his sunglasses down his nose and fixing Max with a reprimanding glare for accepting Barry's bet of fifty bucks on a messy divorce inside a year.

"Almost feels like a funeral," Misty observed, looking at each guest carefully. "No one seems particularly jazzed to be here."

"I guess they should have gone public with everything," he mused. "There's a lot to be said for maintaining a dignified silence, but it didn't really work here."

"Especially considering this all only came out a few months ago, and then bam! A wedding! And it was never officially confirmed that Leaf was pregnant either. Can you imagine how it would have been for everyone to get their invitations?"

Brock snorted in amusement, "Especially for people like Dawn. Last time she was here Ash was, for all intents and purposes, happy with you, and that was less than a year ago."

Misty rolled her eyes as she remembered the visit in question, "I think, that visit was the first time we discussed wedding plans since he proposed. Dawn was so excited, I told her she could be a bridesmaid," she huffed derisively. "I guess that fell through. Ash would have been seeing Leaf for around least two years by that point."

Brock chuckled and shook his head, "You reckon you could sound any more bitter?"

"I'm not bitter at all," she said reassuringly as the Bridal March began to play. "I just remember that visit being… difficult. Neither of us really wanted to be planning anything and yet there we were. It was… weird."

The assembled crowd stood respectfully as the opening bars of the Bridal March sounded and watched as Leaf made her way down the aisle unaccompanied. Misty felt a pang of sympathy for the girl; it was plain as day how happy she was to be getting married, and yet no one in the crowd seemed to share her enthusiasm, and not even her parents were there to support her. As she made her way past in her simple, flowing white gown their eyes locked, and in a silent show of support Misty gave her an encouraging smile, watching as Leaf's eyes grew teary with a smile back of her own.

The gasps were audible as Leaf made her way to the altar where Ash was standing nervously albeit with a huge grin on his face as he watched the woman who would very soon become his wife amble with as much grace as she could manage towards him. Whether the gasps were for the fact that Leaf was now nearing her sixth month of pregnancy or something else Misty didn't know.

"Ash looks happy," she whispered in Brock's ear, not taking her eyes off the scene unfolding in front of her.

"He does," Brock agreed, leaning down to speak. "Does it make you upset?" he asked softly. "This was very nearly you."

Smiling, she shook her head, "Not at all," she said, watching as Ash and Leaf simply stared at each other as Felina began to speak the words. "I'm happy for them, and they're happy together; that's all that matters."

"But are _you_ happy Misty?" Brock pressed on quietly. "You are the undisputed queen of making sure others are happy before even thinking of yourself, and maybe even a little bit of a martyr. Are you going to be selfish anytime soon?"

She gave a small, confident smile and faced forwards once more. "Very, very soon I hope."

The ceremony wore on, seeming to take hours before any real progress had been made. Before long it was time for Ash and Leaf to turn and face each other properly to recite their written vows. As expected, Leaf's vows were full to the brim with flowery, romantic notions as she held a hand to her stomach, and Ash's were soft, sweet and full of promises though Misty couldn't admit to paying any more attention to the proceedings other than what polite society deemed to be the absolute minimum she had to. As it came time for the the exchange of the rings, Misty felt a brush of cloth on her arm as someone sunk quietly into the empty seat beside her. She turned to face the minor disruption, her eyes widening in surprise at who it was.

Looking decidedly underdressed for the occasion in a scruffy hoodie over a plain black tee and worn, grass-stained jeans, Gary turned to face her with an odd smile on his face. His hair stood messily on end, a light smattering of stubble adorned his chin from where he had yet to shave, and his eyes looked filled with sleep as though he had only just woken up. Loudly and unashamedly, and confirming her suspicions, he let out a long yawn.

"Gary?" Misty spluttered quietly, careful not to attract the attention of the other guests. "What are you… _why_?"

"Don't Red," he said softly, taking her hand in his and holding it on his lap. "Don't question."

Still wearing a look of shock she forced herself to face forwards once more. Every so often she felt Brock glance their way, watching them with an equal measure of surprise before smiling to himself and wrapping an arm around Suzie who seemed to be fighting an inner battle with herself not to turn around and ask the questions Misty knew were just dying to spill forth from her lips.

When it finally came time for the couple at the altar to kiss and become Mr. and Mrs. Ketchum officially, she found Gary staring at her with a small smirk on his lips. At that moment his complete and utter lack of effort for the occasion made sense; he wasn't there for Ash or Leaf or anyone else, and it was absurd for her to have even thought that. He was there for her. And for some strange, asinine reason, that fact was infuriating.

The moment of clarity hit so swiftly she was surprised she didn't notice it earlier; why the hell else would he be there? Obviously he wasn't making any particular effort to impress anyone, but what did that really matter if all he was there to do was sit with her and hold her hand? He could have donned a potato sack for all it would have mattered!

Even as the crowd stood with a light smattering of polite applause Gary's eyes didn't leave hers; he was unwavering in his intensity, stubborn in his refusal to look anywhere else, and magnetic in that she could not bring herself to look anywhere else either. She felt the gaze of Ash and Leaf on them both as they walked hand-in-hand back down the aisle but couldn't bring herself to care what they were thinking so long as they just kept walking and kept their opinions and desires for a happy friendship between the four of them that was never going to happen to themselves.

"Gary!" Brock greeted from behind her, breaking her from her little reverie. He cast an eye up and down Gary's clothes over the top of his glasses. "You didn't even slightly bother trying."

"Hmm, just woke up," he replied distractedly, "Ran here."

"Any particular reason you were in such a rush then?" Brock asked sweetly.

Gary glared menacingly at him over Misty's shoulder, his eyes drawn momentarily to the milky expanse of skin on view courtesy of the strapless dress she was wearing. "Shut up," he muttered eventually, his fingers moving of their own accord to lightly brush the exposed skin, soft and warm from the sun, feeling her shiver under his touch.

"Did you decide to take my advice?"

"What else does it look like?" Gary snarled in response.

Brock chuckled before standing to follow the crowd away to the small reception in the backyard of the Ketchum house and taking Suzie's hand, "Calm down," he said as he walked away, "I was just making sure."

"What are you doing here?" Misty asked Gary when everyone was out of earshot. "I didn't think you were coming."

Gary snorted, "I wasn't going to. I'd rather chew glass than be here, but… I remembered something Brock said and I thought… since you were here, maybe I… should," he finished lamely.

'Well, yeah, but…" she trailed off, a hand moving to rub the back of her neck in a gesture so reminiscent of Ash that Gary almost growled. "You told them you didn't want to, weren't even going to contemplate it. Hell, _you punched Ash._"

"I think," he said in a drawl, "that it is very clear to everyone that I'm not here for them. I didn't even glance at the altar, I didn't clap for them, and I didn't look at them as they walked back. For all the effort I've put in today, I might as well not even be here anyway."

"Is this for my sake?" she asked challengingly. "You think I'm still some silly girl that needs her hand held through all this?"

His mouth gaped in shock for a brief moment as he muttered something about never listening to Brock again. "Of course not –"

"Then what the hell is this?" she cried. "I'm only here because Ash is and will always be my best friend. It is a favour and nothing more. God, what sort of bullshit did that head-in-the-clouds romantic Brock tell you? That I'd be sitting here, weeping in despair? Or that I'd be sitting here lamenting my losses all the while wishing there was someone here to take the hurt away? What the fuck are you trying to pull here Gary?"

"You know what Red? Never mind," he said coolly as he stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Forget I was even here."

"Oh God," Misty groaned, tilting her head back to stare at the deep blue sky. "Gary, I'm sorry I snapped," she said sincerely, hearing the soft footsteps stop. "You just surprised me and as I'm sure you can imagine I'm not having the best day." She heard him take a seat in a row somewhere behind her but she didn't turn to look.

"I really wasn't going to come," he said softly. "I don't want to be here anymore than you do. It isn't even my business to be here anymore than it would be for me to watch my random neighbours that I don't know get married, but I knew you'd be here, so I thought I'd come." He leaned forward, his breath hot against her ear as he spoke, "We're in the same boat, you and I. We've both been fucked over more times in the past few years than I'd ever care to count and suddenly we have two very persistent people on our backs pushing for a friendship that, on my end at least, is never going to happen. I thought you might like a bit of support or whatever from someone who actually gets it."

She let out a deep breath at his proximity and sighed, "Thank you," she said shakily. "I think I did need it."

His left hand reached over her right shoulder, trailing down the skin of her arm to find her hand again, entwining their fingers together and pulling her to stand. "Come with me," he said with a small smirk. "We'll talk elsewhere."

"Are you coming to the reception?"

"Would you like me to?"

She shrugged, "It's your call. If you don't want to I won't make you."

"Will there be food and an open bar?"

She laughed lightly, "I'm sure there will be. There were a lot of confused guests here today, you know. Might as well feed and water them."

"We'll go after then," he said with a voice laden with surprising intent. "I'd still like to talk for a bit."

She felt a delicious swoop in her belly at the way he spoke the word _talk_ as though it were a sin but nodded, allowing him to tug her up again, holding her hand above the rows of chairs and walking until they were standing side-by-side in the aisle. "Lead the way."

**-XXX-**

He took her to a very small cottage at the very back of the Oak Manor, closer to the adjoining ranch, but still close enough to civilization to hear the lingering festivities of the party only a few hundred metres away. She leaned against the back wall, staring over at the clear blue lake as she waited for Gary to return from whatever inconsequential thing he had been doing within the cottage for the past twenty minutes. She took a deep breath and sighed in contentment; it really was beautiful and peaceful with the soft rippling of the lake and the music from the party sounding softly in the background.

"Thirsty?" came deep voice from behind her.

She turned and her jaw dropped as she came face to face with a damp-haired Gary wearing the same suit he had worn that first night they had met again at the League ball all those years ago. Just like that night he held two glasses of champagne and offered one to her as he smirked as he watched her gaze at him, her eyes raking up and down his form almost hungrily.

"If you're not careful your face will freeze like that. The only way that could ever look appropriate is if I'm forever in your line of sight and I can't guarantee that's going to work."

She blushed and smiled, remembering those as the words he had send to her when he found her staring at him on the balcony that night. Continuing the game she replied, "Any man looks good in a full tuxedo Oak; you're not any better or worse looking than any other man here tonight."

He grinned and took a step closer, "You wound me so with your vicious words."

She smirked in response, "You're out here, alone, with me; get used to it."

Unable to help themselves they laughed, feeling lighter in that moment than they had in years. She took a glass of the champagne from his hands and raised it in the direction of the party. "To the happy couple," she toasted.

Gary raised his glass too, "May their daughter inherit none of Ash's features."

With a small giggle she took a sip of the fizzy liquid and sighed, feeling incredibly relaxed. "What is this place?" she asked, running a hand along the worn bricks.

"A separate lab," he replied simply. "Gramps calls it his research cabin. He comes down here and does his thing when there are experiments and observations on the water-types to be done that need his undivided attention. Pretty much lives down here sometimes. It's got all the essentials; a kitchen, a bathroom," he looked up, his eyes locking with hers as his lips curled into a positively sinful smirk, "A bed."

She raised an eyebrow at him, surprised at his forwardness even as she felt another pleasant swoop in her stomach at his words. "Why, Mr. Oak, I do believe you're flirting with me."

He smirked again and sunk down to a bench overlooking the lake and finished his drink, "Is it working?"

She gave a soft smile and took another sip of the champagne. "It always does."

"It's nice out here, isn't it?" Gary remarked, turning to watch the sunlight play on the water's surface. "Peaceful."

"It is," she answered slowly, chewing apprehensively on her bottom lip as she moved to put her glass down. "What are we doing Gary? What did you bring me out here for?"

He took a deep breath and stood, holding out his hand and waiting for her to take it. Without hesitation she took it, twining their fingers together as he pulled her up and tugged her to him, leading her in a gentle sway to the soft music in the background. "I suppose I brought you here because I wanted us to be alone when I told you that I'm good to go."

"Good to go?" she repeated with a wry smile as they began to move slowly over the grass. "Way to sweep a girl off her feet."

He raised an eyebrow and grinned down at her. "I'm not very good at big romantic declarations unfortunately."

"On the contrary Gary," she said softly, looking straight into his eyes. "You're perfect at them."

"So," he whispered, changing the subject suddenly, "what's this I hear about you quitting the Gym Leader post?"

"You heard about that?" she asked in surprise , pulling away to look at him properly. He snorted indelicately.

"It's not as though it's not common knowledge now Red, and even if it wasn't I do have some ties to the League, I could have found out that way."

She sighed as she settled back in his arms and closed her eyes, "Do you remember the actual conversation we had that first night at that League ball?"

"The conversation's a bit of a blur actually," he admitted with a small smile. "We had a lot of fun later that night though," he said with a wink.

"We got pizza delivered to a park bench and you tripped and fell into a pond," she reminded him with a fond smile. She felt him shrug against her and chuckle.

"Still though, that was our first date. Awkward mess or not I enjoyed myself."

"So did I," she smiled against him. "Anyway, that night you asked me what I'd been doing with my life; I said I travelled with Ash before becoming Gym Leader. That was it. That was all I had to show for my life."

"So this is some sort of rebellion?" he asked with a hint of teasing. "You're chucking in the towel on the Gym for some sort of epic adventure?"

"I haven't decided yet," she said primly. "But, if I decided that I wanted to, the option is there now. I can do whatever I like."

"So you want to leave?" he asked in morbid curiosity.

She shook her head and stared over his shoulder at the lake. "Not necessarily. I just want to do something… _different_."

His arms tightened around her as he rested his chin atop her head. "I think we can arrange something different," he said softly. "So," he said nonchalantly after a few more moments of simply holding her and swaying to the soft music, "do you think you're ready yet?"

She blinked, feeling the question wash over her as she pulled back and stared at him as though she was seeing him for the first time, knowing her answer in an instant. "Yes, I think I am."

"Good," he breathed, his eyes on her lips as he moved closer and closer, "'cause I can't wait any longer."

After so long, there was no way their kiss could be soft and slow. Pulling her tight against him, Gary crushed his lips to hers, immediately pulling her lower lip between his and nibbling on it as his tongue made long, exploratory sweeps of her mouth.

Misty whimpered against him, her hands reaching up to tug roughly on his hair and pull him even closer as her tongue snaked out to meet his in a kiss that was wet, desperate, messy, but completely and utterly perfect.

"I've missed this," he muttered harshly as he pulled away to land rough, bruising kisses on her neck as he pushed her back into the wall, delighting in the panting moans he was drawing from her as she tipped her head to allow him better access. "I've missed doing this whenever I want, I've missed you pressed against me like this, I've missed you in my bed, I've missed touching you, tasting you, feeling you warm and wet and tight around me. Fucking hell Red, five years. _Five_ _goddamned_ _years_."

"I know," she whispered, a tear falling at his words and sliding down her cheek. "I know and I'm sorry. Oh God Gary, I'm sorry."

"Do you know what it was like?" he continued, ignoring her whispered apology as he began to slowly inch his hands downward to play with the hem of her dress. "To see you with him, to see him touching you knowing full well you were mine? Knowing there wasn't a fucking thing I could do to stop him?"

She couldn't say anything, only gasping as his lips moved to suck along her pulse and lower to trail little bites along her collarbone and shoulders.

"It was hell," he went on hoarsely, his lips never leaving her skin for a minute as his hands seemed to be everywhere at once. "Utter hell. It made me so fucking angry I was actually worried about what I might do but all I could think was that it was meant to be me." His eyes snapped upwards, darkened with lust as she swallowed, her breathing deep and uneven under his ministrations. "You. Are. Mine," he snarled possessively, one hand reaching up the skirt of her dress and pulling the fabric of her knickers aside to brush against the wet heat of her opening.

"Yours!" she gasped as she lifted a leg to wrap around his waist, his head falling to her shoulder with a groan as he thrust two fingers inside and began to move slowly in and out, his thumb grazing the sensitive nub on every upstroke. She moaned desperately as she began to move against him, his lips finding hers again and kissing her with the softness and tenderness that had been absent before. "God Gary, all yours," she whispered against his lips.

Only a few strokes later he felt her begin to tighten and tremble around him. Pulling away from her lips with a slight smirk at her little whine he studied her face as his fingers sped up, watching her as she fell apart with a cry, her head falling back with her eyes closed and mouth open as she took deep gasping breaths, clutching his shoulders to keep from falling into a sated mess on the ground.

"I'd forgotten how gorgeous you are when you come," he murmured against her lips, kissing her again as he felt the frustration begin to leave, only to be flooded with relief and wonder that she was in his arms, where she belonged, once more.

"Is this a dream?" she asked dazedly, her fingers coming up to trace his face. "Are we really here?"

He grinned against her and chuckled, "If it is I swear I'll kill whoever wakes me up," he said as he nuzzled her cheek.

"Did you mean what you said about there being a bed in there?" she asked nonchalantly, her hands smoothing along his arms.

Gary looked up again, looking for any trace of uncertainty in her eyes but finding none. "We don't have to go any farther than this right now," he said seriously. "We can go back to that stupid reception and deal with this later."

She shook her head determinedly, "It's been five years," she said softly. "I want… I _need _to remember." She reached up and brushed her lips against his again and moved slowly, languidly, until they were both gasping for breath. "Help me remember."

He stared at her for a moment, as though trying to work out a puzzle in his head that he just couldn't solve. He pushed them both away from the rough wall of the cabin, brushing a hand down her back to get rid of any dust clinging to the soft fabric and took her by the hand, leading her into the cabin and laying her down on the small single bed before crawling over her and kissing her again as his hand began to pull down the zipper at the side of her dress, silently vowing to help her remember everything.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

* * *

**AN: **Hope you all liked :) If it's something you really want to read let me know and I'll continue the lemon properly in the next chapter, otherwise you can use your imaginations!

Another plug for **Branmuffinpower**'s awesome EgoShipping story 'Game', in my opinion one of the best written and most entertaining EgoShippy stories on this site, and sadly also one of the most underappreciated. Check it out and leave her a review, I promise you won't be disappointed :)

Leave a review for me too if you've got a few moments! As always they are greatly appreciated (and don't get repetitive at all!)


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